An Aftertaste of Blood
by ArizonaSivy
Summary: Zootopia noir. After the city is almost thrown into chaos by the exposition of a group of carnivores, lieutenants Wilde and Hopps continue in their pursuit of the remaining flesh-eaters. However, the delicate peace is threatened again after a fellow officer is murdered… Are you brave enough to follow the duo of cops into the shadiest districts of Zootopia? Contains adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: First of all,** _ **yes**_ **, this is a sequel to** _ **The Case of Butcher's Den**_ **.**

 **Second of all,** _ **no**_ **,** **you do not have to know the events of my previous story in order to read this one** **(though you obviously can read it if you want to, in case you haven't already).**

 **I am in a rather dark mood right now, so this story is going to be dark as well. I mean,** _ **really**_ **dark. Much darker than the movie, and even darker than my first story. And more twisted. It will be more like the real world than a Disney fairytale, actually. I'll try to avoid being too scandalous, but you will definitely encounter serious and mature themes like death,** ** **cruelty, violence** , substance abuse, coarse language, difficult romance, and possibly even religion. I am writing this as a form of catharsis, so the more lighthearted moments I usually put in my stories are going to be rather scarce this time.**

 **Now, to those who have not read** _ **The Case of Butcher's Den.**_ **In that story, four years after the events of the movie, Nick and Judy were tasked with investigating an 'urban legend' about supposed carnivores living in Zootopia (** _ **carnivorism**_ **is the whole theme of this series). To their shock, they found out that this horrible rumor was indeed true, and that the flesh-eaters have gathered under the lead of a fanatical fox, Oscar 'Butcher' Fangley, and created a secret society with the appearance of a legal industry, known as** _ **Butcher's Den**_ **. In short, the two officers were caught by the carnivores, and held captive for over two weeks. During that time, they were indoctrinated by the organization's leader, who was trying to force Nick to join his cause by starving him so that he would** _ **eat**_ **Judy (Spoilers ahead.** _ **An Aftertaste of Blood**_ **follows the** **original** **ending of the first story). The cunning fox pretends to hunt his rabbit partner, but his hustle fails. When both officers are wounded, desperate and caged again, Judy convinces one of the more remorseful carnivores to give her his phone. She calls 911, the police come to her and her partner's rescue, and Butcher is shot dead. On Chief Bogo's request, Nick takes the cake for stopping the predators, becoming Zootopia's hero, and the remaining carnivores are judged and sentenced.**

 **Not all of them, however. Having been promoted to the rank of lieutenants, Nick and Judy now have to struggle with not only the scars left in them by the tragic time of their captivity, but also with trying to find those flesh-eaters who've managed to fly and hide. Because the hunger for meat has not yet been extinguished amongst the predators of Zootopia, its society is in great peril, and our duo of cops can't rest just yet.**

 **This is where our story begins- a couple of months after the end of the first one. It is now late fall in Zootopia, so you can expect rain, cold, and an overall noir ambiance.**

* * *

 **Zootopia:**

 **An Aftertaste of Blood**

* * *

 _'… if, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.'_

 _\- Galatians 5, 15_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

"All rise. This court is now in session."

After the clerk delivered the customary formula, the courtroom was filled with the sound of shuffling chairs. The judge, whose black gown flapped in the air as he walked toward his seat, was a badger, a male of about fifty years. When he sat and the camera zoomed in on his passionless face, he readjusted the glasses which hung low on his snout, right above his nose, and cleared his throat.

"Will the Jury foreperson please stand?" he said, and the image of a brown cow appeared on screen.

"Has the Jury reached a unanimous verdict?" asked the judge.

"Yes, Your Honor," the female bovine announced on behalf of her colleagues, half of whom were predators, and the other- prey animals.

"Please recite it."

"Your Honor, Ladies and Gentlemales of the Jury. The defendant, Rufus Links", the camera zoomed out to show a calm, well-dressed bobcat in his thirties, "stands before the Horne County Criminal Court accused of five charges. The first one of them being a premeditated, first-degree murder, for the reason of practicing carnivorism, of at least one unknown prey animal in the summer of this year. The second charge is the habitual practice of carnivorism, that is the unlawful consumption of the flesh of prey animals, for at least two years before the defendant's arrest on October 18th. The third charge is the participation of the defendant in the criminal syndicate known as _Butcher's Den_. The fourth- his participation in crimes against the animal kingdom, committed by said syndicate. And finally, the fifth- speciesist hatred, in the first degree."

A whole crowd of auditors was then shown, prey and predators alike, all of them astir in anticipation.

"After a thorough examination, we the Jury find you, Rufus Links, on account of charge number one…"

A moment of total silence followed, during which the camera shifted from the face of the bobcat, which exhibited way more emotion than just a few seconds ago, to that of the cow, which was completely blank.

"… not guilty."

The TV's speakers then basically exploded with a cacophony of various sounds. The screen showed the grinning, overjoyed defendant embracing his attorney, and immediately afterwards, an utterly divided audience. Some of the animals present were outraged, some were in tears, while others clapped and screamed out in joy.

"Order! _Order!_ " yelled the judge angrily, hammering with his gavel.

"What a _scandal!_ " a tearful mare, the widow of one of the victims of _Butcher's Den_ , cried back at him at once.

"This is a sham, not a court! A _circus!_ " roared a furious lion.

"PREDATOR PRIDE! PREDATOR PRIDE!" a group of standing canids chanted in response.

"YOU SPECIESIST SCUM!" an answer came from someone.

As the badger kept on banging, threatening to terminate the hearing, the head juror kept speaking in a low, monotone voice. The camera had to zoom in on her lips so that the viewers could read them.

"… on account of charge number two… not guilty. On account of charge number three…"

"An _outrage!_ "

"… on account of charge number five, not guilty," concluded the cow, putting away the file she was holding.

"Court is _adjourned!_ " the judge finally cast his gavel on the desk and stood up to leave. The shouting intensified.

* * *

Lieutenant Nicholas Wilde turned the TV off, placed the remote down on the couch by his side, and sighed.

Sticking the butt of his cigarette in a nearby ash tray along with the rest of them, which formed something akin to a miniature porcupine, he thought to himself:

 _Innocent my rump… that damn jury must have been really corrupt!_

Standing up, he stretched and yawned widely. Taking a gander at the clock, he noticed that it showed five-till-nine AM. He was off duty that day, so he still wore nothing but his boxer shorts and an undershirt.

Scratching his belly, he went over to one of the walls of his apartment. A big whiteboard hung there, with the words 'MEAT SHEET' written on top in large letters with a red sharpie. Underneath were five columns:

 _Tot. Carnies Found Guilty: 61 (incl. executed: 22)_

 _Found N. Guilty: 15_

 _Cases Due: 7_

 _Dead: 8_

 _Carnies On The Run: 2_

Erasing the number '5' in 'Found Not Guilty' with the fur of his paw, he bent over to pick up a black marker from the floor and wrote in the number '6', boosting the total number of supposedly innocent predators to 16. He'd been closely following the development of Rufus Links' case for the past weeks… for nothing.

He then took another look at his statistics.

Throughout the past three months since the exposition of _Butcher's Den_ , the ZPD, along with Judy and him, managed to catch a total of 91 animals. Some of them have been released by the courts due to what was called a 'lack of evidence' (although Nick found the fact that many of those predators were influential, rich citizens of Zootopia to be highly suspicious). 8 have died by means of lynch or suicide, either before or after being convicted. 7 were still only about to be judged. 39 of the ones who have been found guilty, were serving time in prison.

Carnies. Carnivores. _Flesh-eaters_ … 22 of them, who have hunted and slain prey themselves, have already been put down for murder.

There were also the two who were known to be hiding… (actually, he knew exactly who those two carnivores were, but exposing their names would be the last thing he would do). How many more flesh-eaters were still walking the streets freely, disguising their dark secret, however?

His feelings about all of this were mixed. He felt bad for those who had been sentenced, as well as for those who were acquitted. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

Truth be told, he was terribly hung-over. The most recent events of his life have really taken their toll on his state of mind… and the state of his apartment, as well. The place stank of cigarette smoke, there was a whole mountain of dirty dishes in the sink, leftover fishburger boxes and other trash lying around…

Nick couldn't remember what exactly he did last night, after he came back from another unsuccessful late-autumn day of hunting for carnivores. He knew one thing, however- that he felt two burning desires that right now needed to be satisfied. His aching head, shaking paws, and a ravenous hunger made it clear to him.

Approaching the dirty table in his tiny kitchenette, he grabbed an open bottle of Johnny Stalker Red Label, which was less than a quarter-full.

"Hair of the dog that bit me," he mumbled to himself in his raspy voice before taking a hefty swig.

And then, he reached for his pills.

The label on the bottle read 'CARNISOL: Artificial Muscular Tissue Protein Substitute'. The drug was usually used by doping athletes, and wasn't exactly legal. But none of the nutrients he could buy at a regular drug store were enough for him anymore.

Grabbing a pawful of pills, he popped them in his mouth and washed them down with another drink from the bottle. He then coughed, grimaced, and said:

"Nothing like the breakfast o' champs to kick off your day…"

Panting, he felt as his hunger began to subside. His heartbeat also slowed down, and his paws eventally ceased to shake.

The fox was then able to prepare a regular breakfast for himself, consisting of toast and a triple espresso. Having finished eating, he added another dirty plate to his collection.

Walking over to the bathroom next, he stood in front of the mirror. As usual, he could barely recognize himself… but it wasn't because of his drinking.

Judy and him were working undercover most of the time right now, and, in order to not be recognized by the citizens of Zootopia who knew his face from TV, he had to result to radical measures… and dye all of his fur. Which meant that, at least temporarily, he was no longer a red fox. He was now a silver fox, going by the name 'Robin Gekker'.

After turning the water on, 'Mr. Gekker' wet his paw and combed the messy ashen-black hair on top of his head back. He then put on his contact lenses, disguising the blood-shot, natural green of his iris with brownish-red, the color in which the eyes of the melanistic members of his species usually were. Afterward, he also brushed his tail, which was now pitch-black, with the exception of its tip. That part kept its natural whiteness.

Looking at his reflection again, he shared a grin with himself, crossing his paws on his chest.

"Ah! The Vixen Vizier, ready for duty!"

But then, as he continued to look at himself and remembering everything that had happened, the smile on his face melted away as his heart felt a prick of loneliness...

"… not really," he mumbled, turning away from the mirror.

As he walked toward his closet, the sound of rain beating on the windows echoed within the empty home. Even though he was not going to work today, he still had to put his cop outfit on, however. This day was a special occasion… although he wished that it could have been a more happy one. And that he could deck himself out in his dress uniform for someone he liked more, and remembered better.

After putting on his pants and shirt, Nick began fixing his tie. The clothes still looked pretty good. He just wished that nobody would notice that he had not ironed them since the day of his graduation from the Zootopia Police Academy.

His throat still felt very dry, so before leaving, he decided to take another drink. Grabbing the bottle of Johnny Stalker, he lifted it up to his lips…

… and then, a tragedy happened.

Accidently choking on the whiskey, he let some of it spill.

"EKH EKH!" he gasped for air, putting the bottle back on the table. "GodDAMN!"

To his undescribable exasperation, he noticed that not only did the alcohol stain his shirt, but it also caused the dye on his fur to dissolve, creating a nasty black stain on the blue fabric.

" _Yiff it!_ " cursed the fox, ripping his shirt off. Unfortunately, the dye had also stained his undershirt. Another result of the accident was a reddish patch on his chest where the pigment melted away.

"Cheap _crap!_ I swear I'm _never_ dying my own fur again!" he continued to growl. "I hope no carnie notices this damn red spot while I'm working…"

* * *

It was now five-till-ten. Dressed in the regular clothes he usually wore while on an undercover mission, which were black slacks, a white shirt and a black tie, he rolled down the window on the driver's side of the rented metallic-grey Wolfswagen Nocturne, and threw his half-finished cigarette out into the rain. He normally wouldn't have cared, but he was about to enter hallowed ground. Before the bumper of his car was the front gate of Pet Str. Cemetery in the town of Horne, the capital of Horne County. He had driven here in order to attend the funeral of Vargo Batter- the Horne County sheriff.

Taking off his mirrored shades, the fox gazed up toward the rusty iron letters which hung over the entrance.

" _Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,_ " he read aloud. " _Puh!_ Whoever built this cemetery, wasn't without a sense of irony."

Hitting the gas, he entered the area of the large necropolis, carrying a smirk. That changed, however, as soon as he drove pass a huge monument, made entirely of black marble, which looked as if it had been chiseled just yesterday. When he noticed what the golden letters on the slab read, he immediately stopped the car.

 _IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE MANY UNKNOWN VICTIMS_

 _OF BUTCHER'S DEN_

 _AND THE MONSTROSITIES OF CARNIVORISM,_

 _WHOSE FINAL RESTING PLACES REMAIN A MYSTERY,_

 _THEIR UNCONSOLED FAMILIES AND FRIENDS._

 _For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty: only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit serve one another. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another_ _(Galatians 5, 13-15)_

After he finished reading those words, his memories returned and hit him like a speeding train. He felt some sort of a force constricting his throat, which almost made his sob…

Snapping out of this sudden attack of grief, he turned his face away and began driving again.

By the graveside, along with the goats from the sheriff's family, there stood two even rows of cops in dress uniforms- one consisting of Horne County police officers in black, and another of members of the ZPD in blue. After the service was over, they unfortunately had to walk out from under the canopy and into the pouring rain in order to fire the salvo of honor. Then, after the trumpeteer played a dreary melody, everyone began to disperse.

Nick soon noticed the image of a short figure, carrying an umbrella in one paw and a briefcase in the other, stuggling with the wind and wallowing around the graves while heading his way. He rolled down his window.

The face of a female rabbit then apppeared, red vessels of blood disfiguring the lavender of her eyes, indicating anger.

"Links was acquitted," the fox announced to his partner, not bothering to look her way.

Hearing the news, the female officer immediately ground her teeth, mouthing several curses. But, eventually, the only sound she let out was a growl of exasperation. Tapping the wet ground with her foot, she caused the rainwater to splash.

"Hop in, Carrots," Nick proposed. "You're wet enough already."

He closed the window, while lieutenant Judy Hopps made her way to the passenger's seat. Entering the car, she threw her wet umbrella as well as the case with her parade rifle to the back, and immediately sent her partner a scolding glare.

"You were supposed to attend the funeral, Nick! And why are you out of uniform?!"

The fox took his glasses off to look back at her. He then quickly crossed himself, and said:

"May he rest in peace. There. I attended."

"But why were you in the car all the time?!" the soaked cop continued, outraged by his neglectful behavior. "We didn't have to go to the station today, but that doesn't mean that you can just ignore your work!"

"Well, I wasn't in my car _all_ the time..." he retorted, handing her some really small piece of plastic he pulled out from the pocket of his shirt. "... and I wasn't ignoring my work, either."

"What's this?" Judy asked, perplexed, taking the tiny item from him.

"This is a memory card from a rodent-sized digital camera," her partener responded with a smirk. "I confiscated it from a paparatzi. He wasn't too happy about it, but Bogo did say to keep the whole case confidential, didn't he?"

The dutiful rabbit seemed a little appeased with such an answer... but not completely.

" _Uh..._ From what I was able to find out, this is more of a mess than we've thought," she announced to him, displeased.

"C'mon!" Nick snorted dismissively, knowing what her speculations were. "Ol' Batter's been the sheriff over here for, what? 20 years? I'm sure there's plenty of animals who had a bone to pick with him. And besides... no one knows about what he did to Fangley except for you and me..."

He looked at her with confidence, but the expression on her face made him lose some of it. Her eyes indicated that she had something to tell him... Something that would disprove the statement he just made.

"Carrots... What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

The rabbit let out a deep sigh, hanging her head.

"The other officers told me what they found by Batter's body after he was shot..."

The fox's eyes went wide, and his ears stood erect.

"What was that?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer...

The muscles on his partner's face flexed with anxiety. Biting her lip, she mumbled:

"They found something they think was a message from the murderer. A piece of paper they say looks like... a flyer. A flyer with the picture..."

"... of a food chain?" Nick guessed, cutting her off, his shaky voice indicating that he was stricken with concern.

"Yeah..." his partner admitted sadly.

Flyers with pictures of natural food chains had been used by the members of _Butcher's Den_ as propaganda in order to scare the animals of Zootopia and attract new members to the carnivorist cause. Nick and Judy hoped that, after the organization's disbanding, this would stop completely. It appeared that they were wrong.

Vargo Batter was the one who shot the carnivorist's leader, Oscar Fangley, during a police raid at the _Den_. He did that while the fox was unarmed, executing judgement on his own because, as it appeared, the sheriff had been a prey supremacist. Vendetta in this case turned out to be a two-edged sword, however...

"There is one more thing," Judy announced, making her partner's mood become even worse.

" _Uh!_ What?" he inquired with irritation.

"The Horne County cops also told me that there was something written on the back of the flyer..."

"Did they tell you what it was?"

"Yes..." she said grimly. "It was one word. _War_."

War. Now that could only have one meaning- a war between carnivores and non-carnivores... The very thing Zootopia feared most, and what the police had desperately tried to prevent for the past few months.

"The people can't find out about the real reason of the sheriff's death," Judy stated seriously. "It'll cause another crisis, maybe worse than the last one."

"Carrots, the press had already done their job..." the fox revealed to her gloomily. "Haven't you seen what's happening in the streets?"

The rabbit gazed at him, surprised.

"No! Chief Bogo drove me over here early in the morning to speak to Batter's widow. What's going on?"

"Oh, you'll see... I thought it was just some isolated incident, but I got a hunch there's going to be more commotion when we get back."

Nick then turned the car on.

"So where do you wanna go? Wanna grab some coffee and talk this over?"

"No, I can't..." she declined. "I promised Yasseck I'd spend the rest of the day with him. It's not too often do we get free time to be together."

" _Yasseck?_ You mean Jack?" the fox inquired, confused about the name of Judy's boyfriend.

"Apparently, it's actually pronounced _Yasseck_. Or something like that. Anyway, he lives on Catson Avenue. You know where that is, right?"

"Yup. The hipster district. Alright, buckle up, Carrots. We'll be there in the blink of a sloth's eye."

They did not speak while driving, as both of them were in a lousy mood after what they'd found out at the funeral. In Judy's case, however, the negative feelings intensified when her partner began smoking as soon as they left the cemetery...

... but that was nothing compared to how she felt when they got back to Zootopia. For there, seemingly caused by the morning news and the speculations of the journalists about the possible causes of the Horne County Sheriff's mysterious murder, they encountered protests and counter-protests of animals who either accused predators of going savage all over again, or defended them...

Parts of her beloved city seemed to be on the brink of being engulfed in riots.

* * *

 **AN: A couple of things.** ** ** _Yes_ , 'speciesism' is a word.** _Yes_ , Nick is a silver fox in this fic. _No_ , Nick and Judy are _not_ a couple in this fic. And _yes_ , there are also going to be chapters written from Judy's perspective this time, so don't worry.**

 **The outbreak of carnivorism has had serious consequences on both of the main characters, as well as the whole of Zootopia. So don't be surprised if you will encounter a darker side of each- one which has never been showed to us. If you think, _hey, Nick didn't drink whiskey in the movie!_ , think about this- maybe he did it off screen, when he was having a bad day? And now, there's animals eating other animals in Zootopia. So actually, everyone there has some pretty good reasons to complain. Especially Nick who, in his moment of weakness back in Butcher's Den, had himself become a carnivore. Now he's struggling with the consequences of all of those events also on a personal level.  
**

 **The last words which the Butcher spoke to Nick shortly before his death were, _you have won nothing_. Indeed, it seems that the duo of cops' trouble has only begun.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: The song for this chapter is Myslovitz, _I'd like to die of love._ You can find it on the Tube. _  
_**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Judy's boyfriend lived in a Zootopian suburb which for the past few years had been overrun with students, alternative artists, and all sorts of liberal activists. The streets were now flanked with hipster bars and shops with organic food, while the walls had colorful graffiti with themes like pacifism and anti-speciesism all over them. At the moment, Catson Avenue, which ran straight through the neighborhood, was in spite of the rain almost totally blocked by an impromptu anti-prey supremacy gathering (which was, surprisingly, mostly attended by prey animals).

Nick groaned and ground his fangs while honking at the protesting hipsters, who carried their signs and chanted their slogans right in the middle of the street. One time, he had to suddenly hit the brakes as a deer got caught in the headlights of his car. The terrified animal almost dropped its umbrella and its piece of cardboard which had the words 'we still have love' on it.

" _Hey!_ Go back to the forest if ya don't know how to walk in the city!" the fox yelled angrily, making the deer flee from in front of his bumper.

Judy observed the whole scene grimly.

"They're protesting against the discrimination of predators, you know. And _you're_ a predator!" she reminded him.

"Yeah, well, I don't care. The right to assembly does not equal the right to stupidity!" he retorted.

When they finally got to the right spot, the rabbit said to the driver:

"This is it. You can just park here, I'll walk over to the entrance."

"Say hi to Jack from me," Nick said sarcastically.

"You wanna spoil his mood, as well?" Judy cocked a brow, knowing that her boyfriend and her partner did not exactly get along too well.

"Everyone deserves the same amount of misery," the fox responded.

Trying to cheer him up, she jerked the black hair on his head, forcing a smile.

"Hey, no worries, Mr. Gekker! We got those flesh-eaters once. I'm sure we can do it again."

"Yeah, I hope so," he answered rather halfheartedly. "Don't forget your rifle."

"Oh, that's right," the rabbit remembered, reaching to the back seat to grab her umbrella and the large black briefcase with her parade gun. She then put on her cop hat and opened the car door.

"Okay, Nick. See you tomorrow," she delivered her goodbye.

"Stay outa trouble, Carrots," he said, the look in his eyes indicating that he really meant it.

Opening her umbrella, the rabbit officer quickly ran toward the door of the apartment building. When she entered, the female porcupine receptionist sprang up in her chair with a gasp. Then, noticing who she was, she put her paw on her heart.

"Oh, it's you, miss Hopps!" the elderly mammal breathed with relief. "Heck, I thought I was in trouble or something!"

"Hi there, Spiky," she greeted her politely. "Sorry to scare you. I didn't have time to change."

"That's okay," said the porter, looking on as the cop walked toward the elevators.

Judy was in a mood as dark as the weather, and she was really looking forward to spending time with her boyfriend. For the past months, he was basically her only relief from all the work she had, which never seemed to end. Free days were rare, and each of them was an occasion to cherish. So she hoped that she'd be able to forget about the Horne County Sheriff's murder, as well as the possible threat of an inter-species war, at least today.

When she knocked at the door, a tall European rabbit opened it almost instantaneously, greeting her with a wide grin.

" _Moja słodka Karotka_!" he welcomed her in his own language. "Hello, cutie! Come on in. Oh wow, you're all wet!"

She responded with a smile which was more genuine than throughout the rest of the day, crossing the apartment's threshold. Her and Jack shared a warm embrace.

Actually, he was really called Jacek, but most Zootopians referred to him as 'Jack'. Attempting to pronounce her boyfriend's name the proper way, however, Judy began calling him 'Yasseck'. He was a fine arts undergraduate and a skilled painter, a Polish immigrant, and lived in Zootopia on a student's visa.

The scent of his creamy-beige fur and the warmth of his body, as well as the wool of the black cardigan he wore, made her feel much better. After gazing into his hazel eyes dreamily for a second, she kissed him on the lips. She enjoyed the way he tickled her with his whiskers whenever they did that, as he grew them unusually long, according to the contemporary fashion.

"Good to see you too, honey-bunny…" she whispered, putting her head on his shoulder.

"I really like you wearing your cop clothes. You look so cute in them!" he announced to her with a smile. Yasseck still spoke with a thick Slavic accent, which was always kind of amusing for Judy to hear. For example, he would always pronounce the silent g's at the end of 'ing', no matter how many times she corrected him.

"Yeah, I didn't have time to change," she responded, letting him go. She then hung her umbrella to let it dry, put her briefcase by the wall, and started taking off her tie.

"What's this?" asked the male, looking at the rifle case curiously.

"Oh, that's my drill gun," Judy revealed to him, unbuckling her duty belt. "There was a salvo of honor at the sheriff's funeral today."

" _Wow!_ Really?!" Yasseck gasped in amazement. "Can I see it?"

"Well, ok. It's not loaded, so I guess you shouldn't shoot your eye out…"

The rabbit, thrilled like a little kid, readjusted the nerdy glasses on his nose and, having taken the shiny M1 Garand from its case, put his eye to the rear sight.

" _Haha!_ This is so cool!" he laughed. "Maybe we can take this and go for fox hunt one day? How do you load this thing?"

"Very funny…" Judy grumbled, knowing what he had in mind. She then snatched the gun from her boyfriend's paws. "Yasseck, I'm starving! Haven't you got lunch ready for us?"

"Ah, yes, yes!" he suddenly remembered. " _Chodź,_ _Karotka_! Follow me."

He led her into the living room which, for an artist such as himself, was also a workshop. Most of the floor was covered in plastic foil, as easels with paintings in various stages of completion and paint containers were standing all around. On the wall, displayed in a place of honor beside some soccer team emblems, was a large poster with the sign of an organization called the 'Silver Clover', of which Yasseck was an active member. By the poster, proudly covering a space from the ceiling all the way down to the floor, were painted the first words of the preamble of the Zootopia Constitution.

 _As we stand together with eyes undimmed_

 _not driven by hunger or fear_

 _as equal beings without urge to kill, chase or flee_

 _but only to walk simply as_

 _ANIMAL_

 _we declare that hunter and prey_

 _exist among us no more._

Jacek Zając, or 'Yasseck Science', was actually a pretty odd-colored egg in the Easter basket. He was a political activist, like many of the inhabitants of his neighborhood, but unlike those of most Zootopians, his own views, akin to those of the organization which he belonged to, were a bit more right-wing. No, he was not a prey supremacist, and he constantly kept assuring Judy about that, but when it came to the topic of predators, even though he found them to be equal to prey animals, he still believed that there should be some way in which they could be successfully kept from turning savage, or becoming carnivores. Just in case. He claimed that the recent events only proved that he was right.

As a rule, Judy tried to avoid the subject of species and politics while talking to her boyfriend as much as possible. Although with him, it seldom was.

"Are you making Van Goat reproductions again?" the female rabbit asked, examining the artwork the buck seemed to be working on right now.

"Yeah! You like them? I get 100 dollar for each of these at gallery."

Judy gazed at the couple of almost identical copies of Van Goat's 'Dandelions' rather unimpressed.

"They're okay, but... I preferred when you painted landscapes," she confessed honestly.

Yasseck came up to her, surrounded her with a paw, and kissed her on the forehead.

" _Karotka_ , I can paint landscapes when I do it for fun, or as present for my lovely girl. But when I want make money, I need to paint Van Goats. Now come, the food is getting cold!"

Holding her hand, he led her to his small kitchen, where the table was already set up for a meal for two. But when Judy saw what was on the table…

"Aw, _Yasseck!_ " she whined in disappointment. " _Pizza?_ C'mon, you promised you'd cook pierogis today…"

Her bad mood made her complain a bit more than usual, but her boyfriend had indeed broken his promise. Smiling awkwardly, he attempted to explain himself.

"Darling, I'm sorry! Yesterday, I work all night. I go to bed at 3 AM. I'll make it out with you, I promise! Pizza's good, too. Look, I got your favorite- carrots, grass, and green peas!"

 _That's 'make it up to you'… and it's carrots, grass, and capers on pizza, stupid!_ she sighed internally, though she didn't say anything.

Faking a smile, the female sat down at the table while her boyfriend went over to the fridge.

"You want carrot beer?" he suggested, showing her a chilled bottle. "It's Polish, not your domestic slop."

As dutiful an officer as she was, Judy didn't normally drink alcohol. But Polish carrot beer was really something. Especially during a rainy day.

"Well, it's five o'clock somewhere, I guess..." she said, indicating an affirmative answer.

Yasseck opened up two bottles, set them on each side of the table, and took his spot.

"So how was funeral?" he inquired, biting into a piece of pizza.

"How was _the_ funeral, you mean," she corrected him with a chuckle after taking a sip of beer.

"Right! Sorry."

"Well, it rained like heck and the eulogies were kinda boring… I'm really sorry for Mrs. Batter, though. I didn't know her husband well, but I can only imagine what she's feeling right now."

Her boyfriend kept nodding, indicating that he listened. But when she was done, he continued to look at her, as if expecting to hear more.

"Aaand…? What else?" he eventually inquired.

Judy knew immediately where this was all going…

" _What_ what else?" she responded, acting surprised.

The Polish rabbit narrowed his eyes.

"I watch morning news today. They say that the sheriff was _murdered_. And you know what else they say? That he was shot by _predator_. Because he was there in _Butcher's Den_ , with you, but he shoot and kill carnies. And now, they want revenge."

"Yasseck, you really shouldn't pay attention to what they say on TV…" she attempted to dismiss those 'speculations' with a smile. But her boyfriend cut her off.

"Yes, TV lies. Everybody knows. But _you_ were there, Judy! _You_ see what happen! And you also know who shot the sheriff, don't you?"

Frowning with distaste, she pleaded with him to change the topic.

"Honey, please! You know that's confidential! Quit pressing me for info, you're making me feel uncomfortable."

" _Puh!_ _Everything_ is confidential…" snorted the male.

They continued eating in tense silence for a while, but eventually he couldn't take it anymore.

"You know why I ask, right?" Yasseck inquired shyly, fearing that she may have had the wrong impression, and become angry with him.

"Yeah, yeah. Cause you're a member of _Silver Clover_ and you see conspiracy everywhere," Judy rolled her eyes.

Her boyfriend gasped and straightened as if he was stung by a bee.

"Conspiracy? _Karotka_ , a few months ago, predators lock you in the cage! You still got scar on your neck, because fox bite you!"

" _Ugh!_ How many times do I have to tell you that he was _pretending?_ He wanted to trick the carnivores to think that he was one of them!"

Indeed, this was not the first time Yasseck heard that justification. And he knew that insisting would only cause a bigger fight.

"I still don't trust that dyed, shady fox… _Lisek-chytrusek, bajerant, kurna_ …"

"Will you _stop?_ " Judy hissed at him angrily. By now, she was able to make out that he spoke his language whenever he wanted to say something he didn't want her to understand.

Yasseck's ears dropped when he heard her becoming mad with him, however. Looking at her sadly, he mumbled:

" _Karotka_ … Listen, I just say this because I worry about you. They shoot a cop in the street, and TV say it's because he was involved in the _Butcher's Den_ case. And what about you? You are police lieutenant, and you were in _Butcher's Den_ , too!"

Grabbing her paw, he looked her in the eyes with true concern. That made her feel a bit crestfallen…

" _Uhh…_ You sound just like my parents…" she complained.

"Well, maybe your parents are right?" her boyfriend responded with a question. "You ever consider that?"

Not able to find the right answer, she took another sip of carrot beer. Yasseck followed suit, but instead of sipping, he sucked about half of the bottle's content at once. Then, wiping his mouth and his long whiskers with the sleeve of his cardigan, he uttered:

"You know my opinion. They should put tame collars on all predators to prevent situations like this."

"Now that's just plain speciesism!" Judy scolded him.

"No, it's not!" he responded with zeal, gesticulating with his paws. "You know Silver Clover support equality. Our words are- _Pride, Strength,_ and _Security._ We don't want to kick predators out of Zootopia, like prey supremacists. We just want to be safe from those who go savage. And _yes,_ I _know_ that not every one of them is carnivore. But how can you tell? I sell you bundle of carrots, and one of them is poisoned. Do you still buy them just because I say- _oh, don't worry. Only one will kill you, not all of them!_ No, you don't."

After such a monologue, his girlfriend just groaned, frowning…

" _Ah,_ Yasseck… Alright, I get it! Do we really have to talk about this now? I'm so tired of that, especially today…"

The activist, however, did not want to relent just yet.

"I asked you question last Sunday," he reminded her. "I wait for your answer. I have to let the committee know."

"Okay, I agree!" she said with a sigh just to get him off her tail. "Sign me up as a member of the Silver Clover if you want to… Just don't expect me to walk in any rallies, or pay any dues!"

" _Haha!_ " her boyfriend laughed in triumph. "Of course not! Thank you so much, my sweet! This really means a lot to me."

"Anything for my _co-honey cruel-leek_ …" Judy attempted to please him by trying to pronounce the only phrase she remembered from the Polish he'd tried to teach her.

Yasseck smiled, and they both leaned over the table, gazing into one another's eyes.

"You know, you should move out of that your tight burrow, and come live with me," the male suggested, probably for the tenth time.

And, as always, in response to his proposition, Judy held up her paw.

"Sorry," she chuckled. "Can't do that. I still don't see a ring on my finger."

"Ah, come on!" her boyfriend whined jokingly. "You said you wouldn't marry me because you thought I just wanted to gain Zootopia citizenship!"

In response to that, Judy just grinned dastardly.

After being done with the pizza and the beer, the couple moved to the living room. Yasseck ripped off the foil which covered his couch so that his girlfriend could sit in it. He then went back to the fridge, but when he returned with two more open bottles, he was shocked to see her curled up, pretending to snore.

"You work too hard, I told you!" he laughed, setting the beer on the table. Then, he started to shake and tickle her. " _C'mon!_ I see you so _seldom_! I know you're pretend! _Judyyy! Nie śpij! Chodź, poćwiczymy tabliczkę mnożenia…_ "

Also unable to keep herself from laughing, the female eventually sat up. She and her boyfriend shared a romantic glare…

"Wait," he whispered, reaching for a remote which lay on the table. Pressing a button, he turned on some music. The artist's apartment was filled with the smooth sounds of a guitar.

" _Hm,_ nice," she said to him in a low voice. "What is it?"

"It is Polish band called Myszlovitz," he answered. Then, standing up and bowing politely, the buck stretched out his paw toward her. "Do you want to dance, lovely lady?"

The words of the song flowed slowly from the speakers…

 _All the world has slipped out of my grasp_

 _And as yet I can feel no regret_

Now that kind of behavior the famale found way more enjoyable.

"Sure," she smiled with delight, and took his paw.

They came together in an embrace and began swirling around the room leisurely, gazing in one another's eyes, as the singer continued to sing.

 _If I had to and I could ever make_

 _My death-wish_

 _It's not a secret and I know it well_

 _I'd like to die by your side_

 _And if ever I could really choose_

 _How to do that_

 _It's not a secret and I know it well_

 _I'd like to die of love_

* * *

 **AN: So I thought to myself- I often put characters who speak foreign languages in my stories. But I've never had one who's from my own country. Well, guess what. Judy's rabbit boyfriend is just your stereotypical Polish student. Not only does he drink a lot and slaughter his grammar, but he's also very politically involved, and a staunch conservative. His attitude only illustrates the unrest which has invaded Zootopia.  
**

 **By the way, the name 'Jacek Zając' is not 'Jack Zajack', as an American might try to say it. Phonetically, it is pronounced similarly to 'Yasseck Science', and could be translated as 'Hyacinth Hare' (a common name in Poland).**

 _ **Co-honey cruel-leek**_ **is Judy's way of saying 'kochany królik', which is Polish for 'my beloved rabbit', whereas 'Słodka Karotka' means something like 'my cute little carrot'. 'Karotka' is also the word Nick refers to Judy with in the Polish version of Zootopia (or 'Zwierzogród').  
**

 **Oh, and one more thing. The 'preamble of the Zootopia Constitution' is not something I made up myself. It actually comes from an artwork by Cory Loftis, Zootopia's original graphic artist. This story is inspired by his illustrations. You can check those out on Tumblr, they're great!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey Raúl, wanna hear a joke?" asked the silver fox.

"Sure, fire away," the young ocelot answered him.

"How do you call a bed inside a rabbit burrow?"

"I don't know. How _do_ you call a bed inside a rabbit burrow?"

The canid flipped his paw with a smirk, and said:

"A _multiplication table!"_

"A- _hahaha_!" the feline laughed out loud. "That's a good one, Rob. I'm gonna have to remember that…"

The ocelot then stretched out his paw over the chess board, which the fox immediately shook.

"Good game! Even if I lost it. Are you sure you didn't cheat?" Raul cocked a brow with a grin.

"Heavens, no! You kiddin' me? What do you think I am, some kind of a walking stereotype?" snorted the amused Robin.

"Well, anyway, always a pleasure to talk to you. See you next week!" the ocelot delivered his goodbye.

"Yeah, take care!"

The fox then observed as his chess partner skipped down from the top of a gazebo they were sitting under, landing on all fours on the grass. He then lied down comfortably in the sun, and began to groom his handsome fur which was decorated in a pattern of beautiful spots.

Robin Gekker, or rather, lieutenant Nick Wilde, could observe that pattern in its fullness, as the predator was not wearing any clothes. But, actually, he himself wasn't, either. Dressed in nothing but his sliver-black dyed fur (he was able to cover up the whiskey stain he made on it the other day with the use of a black marker), he simply did his job of an undercover police officer, searching for carnivores in Zootopia's naturalist clubs.

Today, that task was especially enjoyable, as their investigation led both him and his partner to an establishment called the 'Pelt Society', which was situated in Sahara Square. The district's climate-controlling system thus made it possible for the officers to escape the fall gloom. A relief in their current circumstances, even if it were only a brief intermission.

Inhaling the fresh air, 'Robin' the fox finished his drink. He afterwards got down on all fours himself, exiting the gazebo and feeling the soft grass beneath his paws. He would have lied down and gone to sleep if he could, but he had to remember that, even though out of uniform, he was still on duty.

As he walked, he inspected how the rest of the ZPD officers assigned for the same mission, now his underlings, were doing. Johnson was engaged in conversation with a whole pride of other lions, and didn't even pay attention to the lieutenant passing by. Officer Wolfard, however, seemed to be enjoying himself a lot. He was at the moment almost howling with delight, having just caught a Frisbee which was thrown to him by a pretty good looking she-wolf.

"Hi, Robin!" he yelled toward the fox, sticking out his tongue.

"Hey, Bill. Havin' a good time?" the undercover lieutenant asked him with a smile.

'Bill' waved his head enthusiastically, and then quickly ran back to the female in order to retrieve the disk.

Leaving the couple to themselves, Nick then stood up and, walking normally, went over to a bunch of thick bushes. Leaning against a palm tree, he took a look around. Afterwards, having made sure that no one was watching, he whispered:

"Hey Carrots. You doin' alright in there?"

After a short while, he heard rustling. From between the branches, there ejected the head of a rabbit.

Judy was visibly not enjoying this mission. But then again, she never had. Making sure that only her face was visible, she took off the fancy high-tech audio equipment which adorned her long ears, pierced Nick with an outraged stare, and hissed:

"I _heard_ the rabbit joke you told to that ocelot!"

Not losing anything from his smug demeanor, her partner acted surprised.

"Oh, really? My my, that eavesdropping gear is pretty amazing. You haven't heard anything that is of any real interest to us though, have you?"

Almost exploding in anger, Judy ground her teeth…

" _Wolfard!_ " she growled, barely capable of keeping her voice down, pointing at the officer in question. "Go and tell that lazy mutt to quit fooling around with that she-wolf! They've been playing like this for _hours!_ And besides, he's looking at her teats _all the darn time!_ "

"Is he?" pretending to act outraged, the fox strained his eyes, gazing toward the lupine. " _Huh._ I guess he is… She doesn't seem to mind, though."

" _Tell him to get back to work!"_ the rabbit lieutenant basically ordered him.

"Well, I would. It's just that…" Nick checked his watch, the only thing he was wearing, "… it's ten-till-five already. We'll all be outa here soon, anyway. Do you really wanna spoil his fun?"

"ERR!" unable to hold herself in anymore, the female rabbit groaned… and then began walking out from behind the thicket.

" _Whoa_ … what're you doing?!" her partner gasped in real shock this time.

But what surprised him most when he saw her reveal herself was the fact that…

… Judy had a bath-robe on.

"Carrots, you're not allowed to wear that in here! This is a naturalist club!" he continued whining as she continued walking. "Where're you going? You're gonna blow our cover!"

Turning her head rapidly, clenching her fists and gazing him in the eyes with fury, the female officer growled:

"I'm going _to the locker room!"_

She then made a quick one-eighty, and deprated.

Once there, Judy quickly put on jeans and a shirt, shaking off the uncomfortable embarrassment of being in this place. She was seriously _sick_ of this whole naturalist club investigation…

On the parking lot of the establishment, she later met with Nick, Johnson and Wolfard, who were now dressed in regular, civilian clothes again.

"Bye, Judy! See you on Monday!" her fellow officers waved at her.

She, however, slammed the door of her car without answering. Starting the engine, she drove off before the males even got to their own vehicles.

The exasperated female turned on some really heavy music (one of her favorite Metallicat songs she usually listened to on such occasions), and put the pedal to the metal.

Of course, she immediately slowed down, as the speed limit in that part of town was only 30 mph.

After shutting the door of her apartment behind her back, Judy finally breathed with relief. She still lived at Grand Pangolin Arms, in her tiny little rabbit hole, but since there was still more room for her in there than what she had back in Bunnyburrow, forced to share her home with her parents plus her 317 siblings, she decided to stay.

The place had undergone a thorough renovation since she moved to Zootopia, however. The old furniture was gone, there were shiny new staves on the floor, and a sound-proof carrot-orange wallpaper, sheltering her from her pesky neighbors. On one of the walls, hung her own 'meat sheet'- a whiteboard with the statistics of the ZPD's carnivore hunt written out on it. Unlike the one in Nick's house, however, Judy's had only two columns:

 _In jail: 39_

 _Dead: 30_

Lying down on her big new bed, underneath one of her boyfriend's beautiful landscapes he'd given to her as a present, she stretched her aching back with a moan of comfort.

And then, she heard _The Beagles'_ song, 'All you need is love'.

Lifting up her phone, she saw the name 'Jacek' displayed on the screen. That immediately made her smile.

"Hey Yasseck!" she greeted her boyfriend brightly after answering.

" _Cześć, słodzutka!_ " the buck responded with no less enthusiasm. It looked as if he'd just been working, as he had green paint smeared on the fur of is cheek. "How's my sweet baby carrot doing? Hard day at work?"

"Yeah, you can say so…" she sighed.

"Well, I think that I have something to make you happy, then!" Yasseck exhibited a mysterious grin.

"Huh. Really?" wondered she.

"Yes! Take a look at these!" the male then pointed his phone toward two pieces of paper he was holding in his paw. Although, he redirected it back at his face too fast for Judy to see what they were.

" _Uhm,_ are these tickets to some sort of a concert?" guessed the female.

"No, silly!" the artist denied, chuckling. "These are restaurant reservations! For tomorrow night! See? 8 PM. Table for two. At the Marmot Hotel!"

"At the _Marmot?!_ " the completely astonished female gasped, and immediately sat up on her bed. "Are you kidding me? How'd you get those?"

Yasseck continued to grin, waving the tickets in the air.

"How does that your predator partner call it? A _hus-tel?_ "

"It's pronounced _hussle,_ the 't' is silent…" she explained, still amazed. "But… seriously, who did you have to rob to get these?! The Marmot is the fanciest hotel in Zootopia, only rich mammals go there to dine!"

"Relax, cutie! I just save money from my paintings," he assured her. "I told you I'd make it out with you for the pizza."

 _Well, if that's really true, then you just might…_ the genuinely impressed Judy estimated, deciding not to correct him this time.

"That's fantastic, Yasseck! I'm so glad!" she basically hopped with joy. "Ok, 8 o'clock on Sunday, right? That's so little time! I gotta fly. See you then! Kisses!"

Without waiting for the buck to return the kiss, she threw her phone on the sheets, jumped down from her bed, and ran to her mirror.

"The Marmot! Oh my gosh, I really need to get ready for that!" she estimated at the first sight of her tired, worn-out face. Then, she examined her paws. "And I need to get my claws done!"

Afterward, looking toward her miniature wardrobe, she sighed:

" _Eh…_ Plus, I also need an evening dress! So much to do, so little time…"

Immediately after she made that statement, muted sounds of cursing reached her from behind her thick wallpaper.

"SHUT UP, ANTLERSON!" she screamed back at her neighbors, rapt in emotion, grabbed her keys, and quickly ran out of her apartment.

* * *

A few hours later, dressed in a winter coat, she was sitting in the frosty chair of a beauty salon in Tundratown, while a female polar bear with a magnifying glass was carefully trying to file down her claws. At her side, holding her head under a tiny hair dryer, there sat Fru Fru- Mr. Big's daughter.

"Thanks for your help, dear. If it weren't for you, I'd never be able to find a place like this on a Saturday evening!" Judy turned toward her friend with a smile of gratitude, making sure not to move too much so as to not interfere in the manicurists' work.

" _Hahaha!_ Don't mention it!" laughed the female shrew. "You can always count on our sweet Betty in case of a beauty emergency."

Her and the salon's owner shared a smile.

"So you're goin' to the Marmot, huh?" Fru Fru then turned back to Judy. "You'll love it there. The place is simply magical!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm counting on," the rabbit confessed, almost shaking in anticipation.

"That guy of yours, he must really be into ya, in that case!"

"Well, he's actually trying to make up for something he did the other night…" she revealed.

"Oh really? You getting along well, then?" the shrew inquired.

"For most of the times, yes. It's just that, you know… He's the type of guy who gets obsessed with worrying about predators trying to hurt me. He keeps yapping about how dangerous they are all the time."

"Honey, he's just worried about you!" Fru Fru pointed out. "You're a cop, after all. And with all those carnies runnin' around…"

" _Uh,_ carnies aren't just _running around!_ " the female officer laughed, attempting to lighten the worries which even the daughter of a mafia lord had.

And then, both of them heard the sound of a gum bubble popping.

"All done!" announced Betty the polar bear happily, putting away her magnifying glass. "Are we gonna be doin' the footsies too tonight, hon'?"

"Well, I don't know…" Judy wondered. But Fru Fru just waved her paw, pointing out to the manicurist that she should continue.

"Go ahead, sweetheart. It's on me. You gotta look special for that special male of yours! I'd also let you borrow one of my dresses, but I'm afraid you're a little too big… No offence, dear."

"None taken," Judy replied with a smile.

* * *

Sunday evening finally came. The female rabbit felt kind of awkward parking her minature car in front of the ritzy Marmot Hotel, an eighty-storey-high monument of glass and metal, but the attendant who took the keys from her did not seem to mind. After taking a deep breath, grasping her tiny purse, she headed inside.

Since she didn't really have a lot to spend her police lieutenant salary on, she saved no expenses in order to look glamorous for the evening. She decorated her neck and ears with nice Swineovsky crystals she was able to get at a discount price at a jewelry shop in Savannah Central. The sleek gown she was wearing, which cost her almost all of her savings, she obtained at a store recommended to her by Fru Fru. The dress was of sparkling black velvet, going down to her ankles, with a slit which revealed her left leg, and a rather deep cleavage, compared to the type of clothes she usually wore...

But now, after her makeover, as she entered the foyer and handed her umbrella to the cloakroom assistant, she was sure that she looked no worse than all the other rich guests who moved about the hotel. For once, she would not think of her job, or naturalist clubs, or carnivores, or anything like that.

Walking proudly through the magnificent halls, illuminated by the glitter of crystal chandeliers, she made her way to the restaurant, almost breathless.

"May I please ask for your name, Miss?" a cat waiter, dressed in a tuxedo, said to her.

"Judy Hopps," she answered politely and straightened her back, trying to remember not to slouch.

"Hopps, Hopps…" the waiter repeated, gazing at his clipboard. "Ah yes, Hopps and… _Zajack_?"

"It's pronounced _Science_ ," she corrected him.

"If you say so, Madam," the cat responded, rather unconvinced. Then he pointed toward something. "Table number 14. Sector three, by the second window on the west wall."

"Thank you," said Judy, and went on her way.

The other tables, divided into several sections according to the size of the animals who sat at them, were overrun by well-dressed herds of Zootopia's richest. The shine of jewelry and diamond cuffs almost made her eyes hurt. On an elevated stage, there sat a doe in a red dress, playing the violin. The mood was simply magical.

Squeezing through the tables of the small herbivore section of the dining hall, making sure not to bump into anyone, Judy finally caught the sight of her boyfriend.

And that shocked her even more.

Yasseck was sitting at their table, reading the menu. He was dressed in a slick black dinner jacket with silk lapels, an emerald vest, and a sparkling white shirt with a green cravat. The endings of his long whiskers were now curled upward. She had _never_ seen him look more handsome.

When he saw her, however, his own eyes went as wide as saucers.

Putting the menu away, the rabbit stood up, bowed profoundly, and kissed the blushing girl's paw. All this time he kept gazing at her as if she were a goddess.

"Good evening, my sweet!" he greeted her with gallantry.

Both of them were rather speechless. Finally, chuckling from the excess of emotion, they simply embraced and shared a long romantic kiss. Afterward, they started whispering into each other's ears so as to not show the rest of the guests how overwhelmed and awkward they felt.

"I'm feeling like a hillbilly girl in a palace…" Judy confessed to him.

"Nonsense, _Karotka_! You look better that _all_ of the other females in here! You look like… _ah!_ I don't even know the word!"

"That's okay," she said, holding his paws and looking him in the eyes. "You look that way, as well. Handsomest buck in town."

Smiling, he then showed her to her spot.

"Allow me," he pulled the chair away for her, and helped her to sit. Then he took his own place again.

"So, did I do good?" Yasseck asked, putting the handkerchief on his lap.

"You did more than good! I am in complete shock right now!" Judy commended his magnificent present. "How much did you pay for these reservations?"

The male simply chuckled.

"In my country, we respect our females! And we do not think about money we spend to make them happy!"

She simply found no more words to praise him.

It wasn't long before a waiter appeared, and to Judy's surprise, he turned out to be a very clean and polite male hyena. She quickly scolded herself for being so prejudiced.

"Good evening. My name is Cheech, and I will be serving you tonight," announced the waiter. "Here is your menu, Madam."

Smiling back at him, Judy took the card from the hyena's paws.

"Order anything you like, cutie," her boyfriend encouraged her.

"May I take your order of drinks?" Cheech asked them, pulling out his notebook.

"Do you have… _maison des lapins_?" Yasseck asked him.

"Certainly, sir. Would you like the whole bottle?"

"Yes, please."

The waiter departed, and the female sent her boyfriend a rather distraught gaze.

" _Yasseck!_ " she whispered. " _Maison des lapins_? That stuff is the best carrot wine on the market! It costs, like, 500 dollars per bottle!"

But the buck simply bared his teeth in a grin.

"No money is too much for my girl!" he assured her, covering her paw with his own. "I am an artist. I cherish beauty. You are beautiful as flower, and that's why I'll water you with French wine if I want to!"

Judy laughed out loud ater such a rediculous confession. She then began to readjust the cauliflower he wore in the buttonhole of her boyfriend's lapel.

"Be careful! I have to go to work tomorrow, you know."

The statement was only partially sincere, as she hoped dearly that she would be able to dance that night away together with him…

But Yasseck just put his finger on her lips delicately.

" _Sza_! Don't mention your work today, please!"

That was something she readily agreed to. When Cheech the hyena brought them the wine, she didn't protest when he filled up her glass. They then ordered their appetizers.

"To us," Yasseck raised his glass after the waiter departed.

"To us," Judy responded with a delighted smile.

" _Na zdrowie!"_

" _Na srove-yeh_ …" she repeated the traditional Polish cheer as well as she could.

The carrot wine was delicious, and the appetizers were beyond compare. The couple ate mostly in silence, sharing romantic looks and chuckles over the table, delighting in one another's closeness.

Finally, Cheech brought them their soup, and took their order for the main course. Choosing from the restaurant's wide selection of the best vegan delicacies took Judy quite some time.

When her choice was made, and the waiter departed again, the female noticed that her boyfriend's paws were shaking.

"What's wrong, are you nervous?" she asked him, smiling.

"No! No, of course not!" he responded with a grin. "I just… can't wait to try this soup!"

Judy herself took a spoon, looking at the fancily decorated cup of blood-red fluid that stood before her.

"So this is borscht, right?" she inquired. "It's made of beetroot juice, isn't it?"

"Yes!" the buck responded, happy to see that she was familiar with his country's cuisine. "My mother always put marjoram in it. And little pierogi with mushrooms inside, called _uszka_. It means _little ears_."

"Haha! That's a funny name."

" _Heh-heh._ Yes, I guess it is…"

Then, all of a sudden, the smooth sound of the violin playing in the background was interrupted by a ringtone, which was the melody of Bob Mongreley's _Bad Boys_.

Judy gasped, quickly grabbing her purse.

"I'm _so_ sorry…" she whispered in embarrassment, quickly rejecting the call and setting her phone to vibrate. "So, where were we?"

"Well, I was saying that…"

Yasseck halted however, as Judy's phone began vibrating again, making the silverware jingle. He lifted his eyes on his girlfriend, slightly irritated.

" _Sorry!"_ she bit her lip, rejecting the call a second time.

"Why don't you just turn that stupid thing off?" inquired the male.

Judy hesitated for a moment… and then she said:

"You're right. I'll just do that."

But before she was able to actually switch the device off, it started vibrating yet another time as she held it in her paws. A pleading look appeared on her face…

"Yasseck, it's the ZPD calling me… I have to answer…"

" _No!"_ the buck staunchly refused.

"Please! They wouldn't have bothered to call three times if it wasn't important!"

"I said _no!_ Judy, there was supposed to be no mention of your work todnight!" he objected even more radically, and reached over the table to snatch the phone from her. "Give that to me! I'll drown it in the borscht!"

"No! Yasseck, I'm begging you! Stop making a big scene!"

They started struggling… Finally, when a quarter of the dining hall was already looking their way, Judy was able to pull the device out of her boyfriend's grasp. Standing up, with Yasseck piercing her with an angry stare, she put the phone to her ear.

"Clawhauser?" she asked…

… and then her ears dropped, her jaw fell, and her nose began to twitch.

"What?" the defeated buck crossed his paws on his chest. "Was it really _that_ important?"

Judy looked at him with terror in her eyes...

"Chief Bogo's been shot…" she mumbled, completely petrified with the news she'd just received.

Now also Yasseck felt an increase of concern.

" _What?!"_ he gasped, almost unable to comprehend what she just said.

The female then reached for her purse.

"I gotta go. Please, _please_ forgive me!"

And, just like that, she began running toward the restaurant's exit, squeezing through the tables. In a matter of seconds, Yasseck found himself completely alone.

The buck felt his ears fall flat on the back of his jacket, and his heart break in half. He sat there in utter silence, mouth agape, for a very long moment… and then, with a shaking paw, he reached into his inside pocket. He took out from there a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a golden ring with a red gem in the shape of a carrot.

An engagement ring.

A tear streamed down his cheek and fell into his borscht…

He then closed the box shut, and slammed his paw against the surface of the table, knocking over both the wine glasses.

" _Cholera jasna!"_ he cried with both fury and grief, not caring about the people watching him. _"I weź się tu umawiaj z psem-pracoholiczką!"_

The terrified Cheech quickly appeared by his side.

"Sir, is everything alright?!" asked the waiter.

Yasseck sent him a murderous stare.

" _Co się gapisz, pieprzony drapieżniku?!"_ he yelled at the perplexed hyena. "Huh? Why are you staring at me like you want to eat me?! Get the hell out of here, and bring me a bottle of vodka!"

* * *

 **AN: The carnies have declared war on Zootopia. Did you really think that the city would have a moment of respite?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Inside one of the patient's rooms within St. Francis' Hospital in Zootopia, a huge heap of muscle laid under the sheets. In front of his bed, there stood two police lieutenants. One of them, a silver fox, wore a raincoat over a green Hawaiian shirt and purple tie, looking as if he just got out of bed. The other officer, a female rabbit, was all decked out in a fancy velvet gown and Swineovski crystal jewelry. Both her and the fox gazed at the animal before them in great concern. It was late evening, and a thunderstorm raged outside of the window.

Bogo was pretty much alive, however. Lying on his belly, he groaned and grunted, his bloodshot eyes indicating that the wounds he received while off shopping with his wife had only made him angry. The 9 mm rounds fired by his would-be assassin were not able to penetrate through the thick hide and muscles on the buffalo's back, but still left the police chief with several deep bullet holes, including one in his buttock.

The killer, as in the case of the Horne County Sherriff, vanished into thin air.

Grinding his teeth in pain, Bogo lifted himself up from the mattress as if making a push-up, turning his head in order to look at his subordinates.

" _Hopps!_ " he yelled, making her flinch. "Why're you wearing that… _costume?_ "

"I-I had to get out of a date to get here… sir," she confessed awkwardly.

"And where was the date? At the bloody _Marmot,_ or something?!" the buffalo roared, and then immediately relented. He wasn't mad at _her_ , after all. "Sorry about that. As you can see, I am slightly debilitated."

He then gazed at both of the lieutenants.

"From now on," Bogo ordered seriously, "all ZPD officers are to wear bullet-proof vests _at all times_! I don't care if you're off duty, or going on a date. If anyone wants to take a shower, I want him to do so _under 15 layers of Kevlar!_ Did I make myself clear?!"

"Yessir," Judy and Nick responded simultaneously.

"Good," he continued. "Now, as for you two, I'm giving you full faculties, and putting you in charge of the carnivore investigation until I get out of the hospital. By which time I expect the case to be solved. You are dismissed."

The buffalo then sighed, and put his head comfortably on the pillow.

The duo of lieutenants were not as relaxed as him, however…

" _Uh…_ excuse me?" Nick gasped, completely surprised by the assignment he and his partner had just received.

Bogo looked at him angrily, unhappy about having to turn his head again.

"Are you _drunk_ , Wilde?" he erupted. "Haven't you heard what I just said? Are you my lieutenants, or are you not?! _I_ can't take care of catching flesh-eaters anymore, nor look for the fool who tried to kill me. I'd love to, but I can't! That's _your_ job now, so I suggest you get to it!"

The chief turned his face to the wall with another painful groan, and said nothing more. Nick and Judy shared an anxious look… and then just walked out of the room.

They both greeted the female wild boar officer who stood guard in front of Bogo's door, wielding a shotgun, and then halted in the hospital corridor. The fox exhaled heavily, putting his paws on his hipps.

" _Ehh…_ and this was supposed to be a restful Sunday…" he complained.

"Yeah…" his partner answered him bitterly, hanging her head.

"You know, you do look good in that dress," Nick then attempted to cheer her up. "Did Jack really manage to get reservations at the Marmot?"

"Yes, he did," Judy confirmed.

"Wow, you're lucky. Then again, you do carry two rabbit's feet with you all the time... I see you even got a pedicure."

"Too bad Chief Bogo isn't as lucky. But wait a minute!"

Suddenly remembering about the whole date situation, she quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her boyfriend's number.

But the phone just kept ringing and ringing…

Looking at the devastated rabbit in sadness and compassion, the male officer eventually came up to her, and laid his paw on her shoulder. Judy put her phone away in resignation, and embraced him.

"You know, we can still go out for a drink, if you want to," he suggested. "I can't afford to take you back to the Marmot, but…"

"No," Judy cut him off, suddenly letting go of him. "I can't. Yasseck wouldn't like that… And besides, I think you've had enough to drink tonight already."

Nick looked at her, embarrassed… and then hopelessly attempted to tame the torn hair on his head.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I better get a cab and just go to sleep..."

"See you tomorrow, then," Judy said to him unenthusiastically.

" _Mhm_ …" he mumbled back before leaving.

The situation was crappy. For both of them. Not only were they now responsible for taking care of the toughest crisis Zootopia's been going through in a long time, but also their private lives weren't exactly sunny, either.

Nick experienced that even harder when, sitting on the back seat of a taxi, he tried to call his own significant other. She too did not answer the phone, as she'd done for over a week…

And with each passing day, the fox felt as if he was becoming a little more dead.

"Goddamit…" Nick mumbled to himself, switching off his phone. He noticed that by now he'd made a deep gash on the LCD screen with the claw of his thumb.

* * *

The next day, him and Judy, both sober and in uniform, stood before all of their fellow officers in the briefing room of the police station for the first time in their lives.

For starters, the rabbit lieutenant explained to everyone that Chief Bogo's life was not in danger, and that it was his decision to put her and her partner in charge of the carnivore case. After the ensuing commotion subsided, she also revealed to them the buffalo's order about wearing ballistic vests at all times, in case such assassination attempts were to happen again.

Then, it was Nick's time to speak. Standing in front of the pulpit, carrying a bunch of files in his paws and gazing at them closely, he began:

"Okay. So, who's in charge of looking for the guy who shot Bogo again?"

He raised his head, and saw one of the elephant officers lifting her trunk.

"Francine? Right, you take care of that, then. As for the rest of you, please report to the quartermaster to receive your vests… and carry on with your work."

All of the gathered cops nodded and, forming a real stampede, raced out of the room, leaving Nick and Judy alone.

"Well, that was easier than I thought…" the fox said to himself.

But immediately afterwards, he noticed that, for some reason, his partner was staring at him. And she was _not_ happy.

" _What… the hell… was that?!"_ the rabbit growled furiously, in a manner that was completely unusual for her. She was clenching her fists, and looked as if she wanted to punch Nick in the nose.

" _Erm,_ what was what?" he asked as he collected his files, confused. "What do you mean, Carrots?"

The female then came up to him, swung her paw… and knocked the papers out of his grasp. Nick observed in shock as the documents hit the floor.

"Jeez, what's the matter with you…?" he stood away, fearing she was really about to attack him.

Judy, however, tapping the floor with her foot in rage, only pointed her finger at him.

" _Carry on with your work?_ You call _that_ a briefing?" she thundered, her eyes shooting out flames.

" _Uh,_ Carrots, everyone pretty much knows what their duties are…" the fox attempted to mumble in response. But she interrupted him.

" _Do they?!_ Do you still think so? Nick, there's carnivores shooting cops in the streets! And haven't you noticed all the protesters while driving to work today? This city is in chaos, and if we want to change that, we've got to do something! We can't just let everyone _carry on with their work_!"

The fox narrowed his eyes…

"Let me guess… Jack still doesn't answer your calls, does he?"

Now that question almost made the female _explode_ with anger.

" _ERRR!_ What does that have to do with anything?!"

 _As well as I can see, everything…_ he thought. But that was not what he said.

"Fine," the fox shrugged finally, crouching to pick up the papers. " _You_ take care of the investigation, then. Maybe you'll do a better job working alone."

"Nick… _Nick!_ Don't be like that! C'mon, where're you going?" yelped the rabbit, her anger turning to sorrow.

"I'm going to get my vest," he mumbled casually, already at the door. "And then, I'll try to catch some carnivores."

Left alone in the briefing room, Judy sighed bitterly… But a moment later, a look of determination appeared on her face.

"Aright. Be that way!" she said to herself. "I am a ZPD lieutenant, and I will do my job as best as I can!"

* * *

Twenty-four hours later, the bullpen was filled with animals again. The only missing officer was lieutenant Nicholas Wilde. Lieutenant Hopps, however, was at her spot by the pulpit, wearing a bullet-proof vest, and carrying a whole load of files.

"Okay, settle down, everyone!" she said to her underlings as soon as the clock showed nine AM. Then, she cleared her throat. "I can see that all of you are wearing ballistic protection. That's good. I understand you know what Chief Bogo's assassination attempt means to every officer in Zootopia. But that also means that _all_ Zootopians, and _especially_ prey animals, are now in the state of great peril. I am sad to observe that our efforts, until now, have been insufficient. I remind you that no carnivores have been caught since early November, and that has made society become terrified, and lose hope in this city's law enforcement. But I'm planning on changing that! We _will_ stop those flesh-eaters, and I am going to lead this case to a close, even if it's _the last thing you do!"_

By the end of the monologue, the rabbit was basically screaming. When she was done, her fellow officers, completely dumbstruck, gazed at her in silence…

Lieutenant Hopps eyed them all back with a demanding stare. And then she began speaking again.

"I want each one of you to deliver to me a full report of your respective investigations. You have time until tomorrow," she stated.

Suddenly, she noticed somebody in the back row lifting a paw.

"Yes, Fangmeyer?" the female groaned in exasperation.

"Uh, ma'am?" the tiger began cockily. He'd obviously been in the force for much longer than Judy, and wasn't too impressed by her distributing orders. "What exactly do you mean by _full report of your respective investigations?_ "

But lieutenant Hopps did not like the sneer on the Fangmeyer's face. She didn't like it _at all._ Leaving her files at the pulpit, she hopped to the floor, and marched straight through the center of the room, making all other officers turn around in shock. She then jumped up again, landing on the feline's desk, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Zootopia Police Code, Section 38 F, paragraphs 1-3. _On how to present an investigation report before a superior_ ," she screamed in his face. "In case you forgot."

She then noticed that, due to the tiger's large size, his bullet-proof vest wasn't put on properly.

"And fasten those darn straps! _Uh,_ what is wrong with you people?!" the furious rabbit yelled before returning to the front of the room.

Fangmeyer sent a communicative stare to Delgato, his colleague who sat beside him...

"Probably in heat," whispered the lion.

" _Uh..._ rabbits are always in heat," answered the tiger. "That's why they breed so fast."

"Oh. I didn't realize that," the astonished Delgato confessed. And then he sighed: "Woe is us..."

* * *

When Judy finally got back to her apartment, it was already late at night. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The first thing she did was taking off her ballistic vest, and throwing it to the floor. Then, lying on her bed, she tried calling Yasseck again.

And again, he didn't answer.

Letting out a deep groan, she decided to call her parents instead and ease her pain by talking the night away with them.

Her mother was the only one to answer, however.

"Hey, Judy," mumbled the sleepy old rabbit, already in her night gown. "What's the matter? Why're you calling so late?"

" _Uhh…_ It's nothing. Just a very long day at work. Plus, I got some trouble with my boyfriend…"

She wasn't able to finish, as the sounds of a violent argument reached her from behind the wall. Completely distracted, she couldn't even get her thoughts together.

" _Shut the hell up!"_ she yelled, knocking on the wall with her fist.

"Judy!" Mrs. Hopps gasped in shock. "What's going on over there?"

"Oh nothing. It's just my stupid neighbors…" she uttered angrily, embarrassed by the fact that she let her mother see her outburst. "I'll call you back in a minute."

The two bovids were quite surprised when someone knocked their door open, shattering the lock. Seeing the rabbit cop standing on the threshold, they froze, grasping the items they were about to throw at eachother during another one of their many fights.

Judy walked over to the stupefied couple with a ticket form and a pen.

"Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson," she read aloud what she was writing down. "Public disturbance after 10 PM, after a fair warning. That'll be a fine of 80 dollars _per capita_."

Approaching them, the jumped, and stuck both tickets on each of the animals' horns. She then said:

"If you have a grievance, you may contest your citation in civil court. Have a good night."

* * *

In the meantime, in another part of Zootopia, lieutenant Wilde was sitting in his rented grey Wolfswagen, smoking and listening to the rain drumming against the windshield. Since yesterday, he'd been driving around town undercover, visiting the shady dens which were known to him, looking for clues. But as of yet, his paws were empty.

Once again, shaking in anticipation, he decided to reach for his phone. And, once again, he hesitantly dialed the number which was written in under the false name 'Mrs. Gekker."

But the phone only continued to ring unanswered, and each signal was like a new needle that pierced his heart...

Finally, he cast his phone to the back seat, turned on the radio, and clasped the steering wheel, exhaling heavily and grinding his fangs.

Unfortunately, the song which the radio played wasn't necessarily joyful… And the dreary lyrics corresponded perfectly with what was going on inside of his own soul.

 _Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me, Oh and I rush to the start_

 _Running in circles, chasing our tails, Coming back as we are._

 _Nobody said it was easy, It's such a shame for us to part_

 _Nobody said it was easy, No one ever said it would be this hard._

 _Oh let's go back to the start._

He felt the warmth of tears flowing down his cheeks...

" _Why won't you answer?!"_ he growled, sobbing.

And then, with a loud yell, he began banging his head against the driving wheel, rapt in fury and despair.

"WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER?!" a scream issued from his mouth so loud that it could have awaken a corpse.

After regaining control over himself, touching his forehead, the fox noticed that he was bleeding. Cursing under his breath, he popped another Carnisol pill in his mouth, reached out to grab his phone again and, smearing the screen with his blood, wrote and sent a text message that read:

 _You are torturing me._

* * *

 **AN: The song for this chapter is Coldplay's _The Scientist_ , obviously.  
**

 **Poor Nick and Judy... Their tough personal struggles are deffinitely not helping them in their difficult work. Yasseck may have been rough around the edges, but Judy feels very lonely without him. And that's causing her to become frustrated.  
**

 **What about Nick, however? Well, according to the timeline of the movie and the first story, he is now 36 years old. Obviously, he's looking for a stable relationship. Something appears to have gone wrong, however... What was it tho, and who is this 'Mrs. Gekker'? Stay tuned to find out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Soundtrack for chapter five- 50 Cent, _P.I.M.P._**

 **Mature content ahead.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Nick couldn't stand sitting in his empty apartment anymore. Listening to the rain outside while constantly checking his phone, which remained as silent as a grave, was slowly driving him insane. He also couldn't believe his carelessness when he realized, after returning from work, that he did not have a single drop of alcohol at home… Finally, he changed the band-aid on his forehead, put on his old shirt and tie, fastened his gun holster, threw a raincoat over his back and went out, slamming the doors as he left.

Getting behind the wheel of his Stallion Firebird Convertible, the car which was given to him by Mr. Big for getting rid of the Butcher, he tuned the radio on to some dreary blues and started driving around Zootopia pointlessly, greatly exceeding the speed limits. The lights of the city reflected from the wet asphalt and hypnotized him as he gazed at them from behind his mirrored cop shades… His head was filled with gloomy thoughts, but the gloomiest one of all was that of loneliness. Not so long ago, he would spend literally every single night with _her_ , out at some party or concert in places which he drove by, that now seemed repulsive to him.

After an hour or so, he got sick of doing that, as well. There was only one place he could go to in such a state, only that it was all the way over in the Hive- the most shady part of Zootopia, where he would never dare to drive in his beloved vehicle.

He parked the Stallion by a small police station in the Rainforest District and, standing under the huge leaves of some tropical tree, called for a cab. Fortunately, the taxi showed up in a matter of minutes, as the downpour was truly catastrophic.

When he got into the cab, he noticed that the driver was a female jackal with golden fur.

"Where to, mister?" she spoke with a thick Spanish accent.

Nick considered that a rather amusing coincidence, as she looked like she basically came from where he wanted to go.

"Take me to Las Perras, _señorita_ ," he answered her.

" _En seguida_ ," she said with a smirk, hitting the gas.

There was a special section within the Hive which was mostly inhabited by canids. That, and the fact that the district was basically ran by Latino gangs, making it an epicenter of crime and hustling, caused the other animals of Zootopia to refer to the place as _Barrio de las Perras_ , or simply Las Perras.

Nick had not been there a single time since he became a police officer. But before that, it used to be a regular spot of his daily foxy money-making… as well as his nightly money-spending. He wondered if that under-the-tail neighborhood, of which Zootopians were not particularly proud, had at all changed throughout the years.

When they finally got to Las Perras, he noticed that he was right- it hadn't. He still saw the familiar sight of neon lights illuminating the darkness of the night… and many females of all the species of the canidae family, rather scantily clad in spite of the cold weather, sitting behind large windows illuminated with a crimson glow. Most of them seemed rather bored, waiting for customers under the watchful eyes of their ferociously-looking _chulos_.

Zootopia's red-light district was known as a place where one could indulge in all kinds of _fun_ , legal and otherwise (the sight of a muzzled, leather-and-lace wearing she-wolf on display of an establishment called 'Madame Van Leesh' made Nick cringe…). Despite the police's efforts, the recreational substance market was also quite vast there. However, Las Perras was also probably the only precinct of the city which never experienced any speciesist tension. But that was probably because no prey animals even dared to live there.

The taxi had to stop at a red light (which Nick found ironic) right by some high-class gentlemale's club, fancifully called the 'Doggie Style Lounge'. The 'usherette' who stood in front of the main entrance immediately caught the fox's eye. She was a vixen in her twenties, very good-looking, and _extremely_ seductively dressed in kinky lingerie. Noticing his interest, in attempt to use the opportunity of the taxi 's short halt, opening a big red umbrella, she ran up to the car and, bending over, knocked on the window.

The enchanted Nick smiled back at her, reading her lips as she mouthed: _hey, dark and handsome! Lookin' to let off some steam?_

The girl hit the bullseye with that assumption, he had to hand it to her… He could feel his heartbeat speeding up rapidly.

"Mister, do you want to get off here?" the driver asked with a grin.

Gulping loudly, the fox took a deep breath…

... but he then remembered the phone in his pocket, and the call he was waiting for.

 _Okay, you're gonna have to get a hold of yourself, Wilde…_ he said internally.

"No," he addressed the female jackal. "Keep going."

A green light appeared, and the taxi took off, leaving the disappointed vixen alone in the rain.

As they drove on, Nick, gazing through the window at nothing in particular, mumbled to the driver.

"Do you know a bar called 'La Perrera'?"

"Why, yes!" she responded. "We'll be there in just a minute."

Continuing to smile mysteriously, the female then asked.

"Hey mister."

"Yeah?" said the fox reluctantly.

"You are that cop, aren't you?"

The question made him stiffen… Indeed, he had forgotten to put on is contacts, although he thought that his silver fur would provide him with enough camouflage.

When he didn't answer, the driver kept on inquiring.

"You're lieutenant Wilde, aren't you? You're that mammal who killed the Butcher!"

Now that was an interesting rumor. One he had not heard before.

"Ma'am, my name may be Wilde… And yes, I am a cop. But I did _not_ kill Oscar Fangley, alright?"

The harsh note in his voice made the female's ears drop.

"Oh… that's a shame."

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously after such an odd response, he sat up straight, moving closer to the driver's seat.

"Now wait a minute, miss…" he took a look at her identification badge, "… Esmeralda Villalobos. Why're you so curious about that, anyway?"

The jackal took a moment to answer, during which she continued to smile cryptically.

"It is a topic I'm interested in, mister Wilde," she said eventually.

"What? _Death?_ "

"Yes!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you better watch out, in that case. Especially around here. Besides, it's confidential information, so no use prying."

" _Eh._ Too bad… Are you on an undercover mission, Officer?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right."

After such a definitive statement, the female asked nothing more. Not long afterward, they were at the entrance to 'the Kennel'.

"15.25," miss Villalobos stated to Nick the amount of the fare.

"Here," he said, handing her a twenty. "Now, if anyone asks you whom you drove tonight, what're you gonna say?"

"The truth!" grinned the jackal. "Three well-dressed, slightly toasted Chihuahuas."

"Right," the cop nodded in appreciation. "Good night, Esmeralda Villalobos."

" _Buenas noches_ , Nick," she responded before driving off.

'La Perrera' may have been an open-dusk-till-dawn watering hole just like any other, but Nick knew some people there from times long past. He thought his identity would be safer there… as long as those animals were still alive, that is. Wrapping himself in his raincoat tightly, he ran toward the entrance as the neon lights and a flash of lightning illumined the streets of Las Perras.

Opening the door and shaking the water off his tail, he heard the sound of a steel drum. The radio inside had just started playing an old Half-A-Buck rap song, which immediately set up the right mood for anyone entering.

 _I don't know what ya heard about me, but a bitch can't get a collar outa me,_

 _No kinda walk, no leash, you can't see, that I'm a motheryiffin' P-I-M-P._

Inhaling the cigarette smoke in the almost empty establishment, Nick sighed with nostalgia.

 _Ah, el Barrio de Las Perras just as I remember it_ , he thought.

Over by the wall, sitting in front of a blinking slot machine, was an old fox. The cop was surprised to see him still staying faithful to his favorite pass-time, remembering that this particular barfly had to pay alimony to his ex-wife on account of their six kitts…

"Hi, Tod!" he patted the poor old vulpine on the shoulder.

"Hey," responded the animal, probably not even noticing who spoke to him, preoccupied with pulling the lever of the jingling machine.

He was then approached by another familiar canid.

"Well well, if it isn't Nick the Quick!" a waitress said to him with a huge smile, also recognizing him in spite of his camouflage. "I haven't seen you in ages! What's with the new look? This a disguise, or something?"

"Hey there, Dama," the cop smiled back at the female Cocker Spaniel. "You like it?"

"Yeah, sure I do! Can't believe you joined the police, though. I mean, anyone, but you? _Heh-heh._ Anyways, good seein' ya again. Gotta run. Go talk to Tito, he's over by the pool table."

"Sure," Nick responded with a smirk. But as the waitress went pass him…

… he was still able to give her a nice big slap on the rump.

" _Heeey!_ " shrieked the outraged Dama. "You better watch out, Wilde! I'm married now, you know!"

" _What?!_ Do you mean to tell me you and that tramp of yours finally got hooked up?" gasped the fox, staging disappointment.

The female cocked a brow and grinned.

"Yeah. Too late, _zorro_. And you better keep your paws to yourself, or my Golfo will bite your tail off!"

Turning away with a snort, the Cocker Spaniel vanished behind the back of the bar.

Shrugging, Nick then made his way to a pool table that was surrounded by a cloud of tobacco smoke. On top of it, there stood a Chihuahua, wearing a green headband to keep his red hair out of his eyes, and a sleeveless denim jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, which had on it the barely visible words _yiff the system_. He was also wearing dog tags and a spiked collar around his neck, smoked a large cigar, and wielded a cue which was a little too big for him. But he didn't seem to mind.

"Ey, _cachorro_!" the fox called his old acquaintance.

" _Nico!_ The 21th century fox, in the flesh! I'll be damned, Zootopia's hero, in my bar!" exclaimed the dog upon noticing who decided to visit his establishment that night. " _Infierno_ , why did you dye your fur like that?! _Un negro bastardo!_ You think I won't recognize you in that stinkin' old shirt of yours? When will you finally learn not to wear a tie with a Hawaiian _camisa_? _Ayy_ …"

"It's nice to see you too, Tito," the fox responded coldly, narrowing his eyes at him.

Putting the pool cue on his shoulder, the Chihuahua examined him more closely. And then he smiled.

" _Ha!_ Despite everything, I'm happy to see you, as well… So you a cop now, eh? You… not here to search my bar, are you?"

"No," said Nick. "I'm just here for a drink."

" _Heh-heh._ In that case, _muy bien_."

Jumping off the table, the miniature canine walked over to the bar and, with a high skip, ejecting from a bar stool, stood on top of the counter.

"The usual? Straight up?" asked Tito, already walking toward a bottle of Johnny Stalker which was almost as big as him.

"Yup," nodded the fox. He then took a pack of Mareboro Strongs out of his pocket and lit one with the clink of a zippo lighter.

As Nick pulled an ashtray closer and placed his cigarette in it, the Chihuahua carefully poured him a glass of whiskey. The off-duty officer then took out a drug bottle from the inside pocket of his coat, and proceeded to unscrew the cap.

Tito's eyes went wide…

" _Maldito!_ You takin' _Carnisol_?!" he gasped so loudly he almost tipped over the Johnny Stalker bottle.

"Yeah," Nick answered him passionlessly, popping a few pills in his mouth. He then reached for his drink and washed them down. "So? You know as well as I do that it's not real meat protein. My job is to hunt flesh-eaters, not be one. So don't be giving me any of that _you can't do that cause you're a cop_ crap!"

"Hey Nico, I understand, _no_?" the dog's astonishment was suddenly replaced by a large grin. "Say… you lookin' for something better, perhaps? A bit stronger, maybe?"

The fox lowered his eyes at him suspiciously.

 _"Meaning?"_

" _Heh-heh._ Well, let me show you…"

Also putting his cigar in the ashtray, he bent down to reach behind the counter. But then, suddenly, Dama appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey pug nose, you want some leftover spaghetti?" she yelled at Nick, making her boss stand straight and look at her angrily.

"Damn it, _hembra_! Can't you see that males are talkin'? Who cares about your stinkin' spaghetti!"

"Uh, I think I'm alright, Dama…" the fox attempted to ease the tension between the two of them. But the female Spaniel already had her fangs bared.

" _¡Bésame bajo la cola, Tito!_ " she growled at the bar's proprietor.

" _¡Fuera!"_ he barked back at her, pointing toward the door to the kitchen. " _¡Ve limpiar algo, perra!"_

Sending him a murderous gaze, the female quickly departed. The Chihuahua then exhaled, and again made sure that there was no one else in the bar area but him, Nick, and the preoccupied gambler Tod.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to his friend. "Now, where were we?"

Baring his teeth in dastardly joy, he reached under the counter and pulled out a big zip lock bag with some brownish powder in it.

"Lookie here!"

"The hell is this?" Nick examined the mysterious substance reluctantly.

Tito put the cigar back in between his teeth, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"I'm tellin' you, it's the best! A hit on the market right now. They call it _Hamfetamine_. It has basically the same effect as pure fried pork!"

That sounded even _more_ suspicious…

"You sure this crap doesn't have any bone marrow, or any other real animal ingredients?" the cop continued his interrogation.

Tito then snatched the bag from his paw.

"Hell no! This is a purely artificial substitute. Just as legal as that Carnisol you got… only better!"

The dog opened the bag and started spilling some of its contents on the surface of the counter.

"Who do you take me for, _zorro_? You think I'd be eatin' meat in front of the best carnie hunter in Zootopia? I'm no fool, you know!"

Looking at what the bar owner was doing curiously, Nick inquired:

"So, how do you take this stuff? You eat it?"

"No," answered the Chihuahua, putting the bag away. "Show me your wallet!"

Though remaining unconvinced, the cop obeyed. Tito, using his credit card, then formed two straight lines of powder- one smaller, and one bigger. Next, he rolled a dollar bill into a thin tube.

"You snort it!" the bar owner said with a grin and, using the tube, inhaled the short line through his nose. He then winced, frowned, and exclaimed:

" _¡Ayyy caramba, eso se siente bien!"_

Afterwards, the dog stretched out his paw holding the bank note toward Nick, who looked at it rather reluctantly…

"Just try it! First shot is on the house!" Tito encouraged him. "You saw me takin' the same thing, so you know it's clean."

It just so happened that Gazelle was on the radio right at that moment, singing _Yo lo haré_.

The fox shrugged.

"Well, yolo, I guess…"

Not sure if he was doing this right, he put the makeshift tube in his nostril, bent down, pointed the other end at the line of _Hamfetamine_ … and started snorting.

When he was done with the other nostril as well, for the first time in months, he felt that his nearly incessant hunger was somehow completely satisfied! His system rejoiced in the nutrition it received, releasing an amount of endorphin which sent him on a trip above the clouds.

"Oh wow…" he was only able to gasp, as his pupils almost covered up his irises and a smile of bliss appeared on his face.

"Told you!" Tito crossed his paws with a smirk.

Putting some spit on his finger, Nick picked up the rest of the powder and rubbed it into his gums. Then he turned toward the Chihuahua.

"This stuff is _the bomb_! You got more of it?!"

"Sure!" Tito answered. And, suddenly making his grin along with the zip lock bag disappear in a flash, he spoke much more seriously. "Twenty bucks an ounce. Cash only."

" _Twenty bucks?!_ " yelped the fox, outraged. "Are ya tryin' to rob me?"

But then, grabbing his wallet, he said:

"Gimme two…"

Of course, his main intention was to take this mysterious substance to the forensics lab, to have it examined for any possible trace of actual meat. But he also estimated that, if it was indeed nothing more than a substitute, there would be nothing wrong with keeping the other ounce for a rainy day such as this one.

Tito pocketed the money, Nick pocketed his _Hamphetamine_ , and then the canids took another innocent look around only to notice Tod, the only other animal in the room, still playing with his slot machine.

" _Bien_ ," the Chihuahua continued while both of them moved to the pool table, taking their drinks and their ashtray with them. "I heard Chase is in jail for carnivorism, eh? And what about Finnick? You still seein' that lil' runt sometime?"

"I haven't seen Finnick in months," Nick confessed truthfully.

"I see... So, in that case, what is the _real_ reason for you comin' back to Las Perras after such a long time, Nico?"

" _Huh._ Try to take a wild guess," the fox offered, puffing cigarette smoke into the light of the incandescent lamp to create the right ambiance.

"What, your search for carnies not goin' too well?" Tito inquired, grabbing a pool cue.

"That too, but I have a more… _private_ problem, as well."

Nick also took a cue stick for himself. Afterward, he also pulled out his phone and put it on the green fabric of the table, as if to give his friend a clue.

"You break, you're the guest," the dog suggested.

Taking his position in front of the cue ball, the cop took aim, and broke the rack. The balls were sent flying all around the table, and finally, three of them were pocketed: numbers 3, 13, and 7.

"I got solids, you got stripes," he estimated.

"Good shot," the other canid approved, smiling. "You better not be cheatin' me, _zorro_!"

In response to that, Nick just grinned mysteriously. He then readied for a second shot, aiming the cue ball at the 1 ball. But he wasn't really in the mood for pool, so the solid sphere missed its pocket, and made one of Tito's striped ones fall there, instead.

"If I wanted to cheat, I'd do better than that," the fox commented smugly.

"Yeah, just like you always have!" retorted the dog. Then, standing on top of the table, he prepared for his own shot. But before he hit the cue ball, he straightened and looked at the other animal again.

"So, in other words, you're feeling blue because of a female, am I right?"

Nick picked up his whiskey, hanging his head.

"Yup," he mumbled sourly, taking a sip. The euphoria induced by the drug he took unfortunately wore off.

Surprisingly, that only caused Tito to laugh out loud.

" _Ha_! Cheer up, _amigo_! If that's the case, you got nothing to worry about!"

Walking on the edge of the pool table, he stood in front of Nick and poked him in the chest with the back of his cue stick.

"Ah, she left you, no? It hurts right here, yes? You keep watch by your phone day and night, waiting for a vixen's scream… but it never comes, no?"

The Chihuahua laughed so hard that his cigar almost fell out of his mouth.

" _Hahaha!_ What's that _perra_ 's name, Nico? Let's hear it! Huh? Who's responsible for all your misery?"

The fox ground his fangs…

"Her name is _Scarlet_ … and she's a _vixen_ , not a _bitch_. You're not helping me much," he hissed.

Tito continued to jeer, however.

"Ey, _perra, zorra,_ same thing! I believe in equality. If you ask me, all _hembras_ are bitches, no matter the species. Not worth crying over. By the way, you ever notice that _Scarlet_ rhymes with _harlot_?"

That was it. During the Chihuahua's monologue, Nick continued to gaze at him with rapidly increasing wrath. Unfortunately, the bar owner failed to notice that.

After he heard the word _harlot_ coming from Tito's mouth, even if Scarlet was already just his ex-girlfriend, Nick cast the ashtray from the top of the pool table, making it crash to the floor. He then grabbed his whiskey glass, and threw it straight at the bedazzled canine, along with its contents.

Tito was able to dodge the projectile at the last second, but still got hit in the face with a splash of Johnny Stalker.

" _¡Hijo de perra!_ " cursed the dog, almost collapsing from the table himself. Trying to wipe the alcohol from his eyes, he continued to yell: _"¿Qué estás haciendo, yiffado animal loco?!"_

" _You're_ the son of a bitch, Tito!" Nick growled back at him, baring his fangs. "And I mean that in a derogatory sense!"

By now, the commotion had attracted both Tod and Dama to approach and watch the two fighting males in horror.

" _¡Tengo que matar a este burro!"_ barked the Chihuahua, swinging with the cue stick he had in his grasp.

" _Despacito_ , fellows!" the waitress gasped.

Nick, however, remained calm. Instead of attacking or dodging the assault, he simply uncovered the lap of his coat, revealing the gun holster that was concealed underneath, which also had his police badge attached to it.

Tito immediately halted, holding the stick above his head for a second. He then cast it on the table and, almost frothing at the mouth, pointed toward the exit.

"Get the hell outa my bar! _¡Ir a morderse, tu maldito_ _teñido_ _poli rojo!_ I don't wanna see you show your ugly snout in here ever again! _Get it?!_ "

But Nick was already out of 'La Perrera' before the Chihuahua finished screaming at him. Out into the rain, and back to his biting loneliness.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, guess what? This chapter adds absolutely nothing to the plot. Oh, except for the identity of Nick's ex-girlfriend, that is. Miss Scarlet Vixey is, or at least has been, a carnivore from _Butcher's Den_. Just like Nick himself. **

**By the way, my version of Nick in this story ('Rob Gekker') is inspired by Rick Deckard from _Blade Runner_. The movie also inspired the ambiance of a distopian Zootopia in this chapter.  
**

 **I've borrowed several characters from other movies, too. I wonder if you can recognize them? Perhaps it will be easier if you translate some of the Las Perras-style Spanish to English. The chapter is inspired by some of Cori Loftis' concept art, which shows Zootopia's nightlife. And what did you think Disney characters did at night to relax? Watch cartoons? I don't think so.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Judy was completely exhausted with reading her fellow officers' reports. Until recently, most of the ZPD's employees had been working about as hard as a bucket of apples. When she took over Bogo's job, she decided to change that... but after the info of the chief's assassination attempt was leaked to the press, almost all officers immediately had to be reassigned to crowd control and pacifying the riots that erupted around town.

Her boyfriend, who had been a relief for her from her work, still refused to answer her calls. And after her fight with Nick, the fox did not even show up at the station once. Feeling frustrated, lieutenant Hopps therefore decided to dedicate all of her time to her duties, no matter how tiring it would be.

One day, she texted Nick, warning him that if he didn't do his job, she'd have to file a complaint against him. Of course, the fox responded that he wasn't just smoking cigarettes and watching 'Captain Kangaroo' all the time, but conducting what he called _a private investigation_. When Judy inquired about the details of this _investigation_ , he responded that he'd been visiting his acquaintances from past times, who still might have known something about the remnants from _Butcher's Den_. He suggested she do the same.

Thus, in order to escape from the tidal wave of paperwork she had to take care of as Bogo's assistant, the rabbit decided to go undercover, rent a car, and drive over to the Hive.

Zootopia's slums were an even more depressing sight now than during the summer. It looked like someone had sucked the last spark of life out of that run-down neighborhood. Her target there was Mathilda Blacktail, a reformed assassin who had once worked for Mr. Big. The she-wolf had also been a carnivore, and a member of _Butcher's Den_. It was her who first pointed out the location of the flesh-eater club to the duo of officers.

Judy entered the apartment building at 2612 Fly Street, exiting the nasty cold outside. When she mentioned Mathilda's name to the receptionist, however, the old deer shrugged and revealed to her that the she-wolf had moved out months ago. Probably right after the fall of _Butcher's Den_. He had no idea where she could be found now.

Thanking the buck politely, the disguised cop left the building… and then quickly slipped into another one on the opposite side of the street. Looking through the window, she spent some time observing what was going on in apartment 26D- the one where Mathilda used to live. It appeared, however, that it was now inhabited by a couple of ferrets.

A bit disappointed, driving back to the police station, she sent a text message to Nick:

 _Mathilda's moved out. I found no trace of her._

Returning to the office, after changing into her uniform, she again gazed at the desk which was all covered in files. She was beginning to understand why Chief Bogo was in such a bad temper usually… And, what in her case happened very seldom, she dreamt of the peaceful carrot farms back in Bunnyburrow.

After a while, her phone rang. But it was not Nick calling her.

She was surprised to see mayor Lionheart's number displaying on the screen. The lions's been especially… _absent_ throughout the past few days, and Zootopians were beginning to get concerned. Some blamed him for not doing anything about the riots… while others even went as far as speculating that it was all because he himself was a clandestine flesh-eater.

"Mayor Lionheart?" Judy asked after answering the phone.

" _Hopps!_ " the feline immediately gasped. His voice sounded unfamiliar, and had a note of great anxiety resounding through it. Something rather unusual in a lion. "Thank God I managed to reach you!"

"Sir, is everything… okay?" the rabbit lieutenant frowned with concern, sitting in her chair.

"No, _nothing_ is okay!" her interlocutor basically roared through the phone, making her move the device away from her ear. "Haven't you seen what's going on in the streets?! Zootopia's lost its 'topia', and turned into a regular _zoo_! I can't drive my limousine through Savanna Central without some crazy herbivores throwing bricks at it! And you know what they're yelling? _Leodore-carnivore_! I-I'm slowly starting to lose my mind here!"

Indeed, Judy could clearly sense that this statement was very true.

"Uh, sir. Please calm down, we're doing whatever we can to…" she tried to appease him, but her cut her off.

" _Calm down?!_ You've got to be joking! After what happened to the Horne County Sheriff and Chief Bogo, I worry all day, every day! I-I don't want to be shot dead like some prey animal… I haven't even finished half of my term yet!"

Exasperated by the mayor's self-absorbed attitude (as well as his comment about prey animals), Judy rolled her eyes.

"Mayor Lionheart… Listen to me. You've got to go out and speak to the people! A public figure with authority such as yourself should be able to ease the tension at least a bit…"

The outraged lion interrupted her again, however.

" _Go out?_ GO OUT? That's out of the question! I'm calling in order to tell you to send two… no, _four_ officers, armed head to toe, to guard my office at the city hall! Did you hear me, Hopps?!"

She did. Too well, actually.

 _Puh! Lionheart my foot…_ thought the rabbit.

"Sir, I'm afraid I am unable to do that. All officers are currently on duty, maintaining peace in the streets of _your_ city. I wish you a safe day."

"Hopps? HOOOPS!"

Tired of the timid feline growling at her, she disconnected the call, and threw her phone on the desk.

That was followed by a feeling of relief… although she immediately felt remorse as well, having lied to the mayor about all officers being busy. Obviously, at least one of them still had to guard Bogo day and night. But Lionheart did not know that.

After another sigh, she decided to return to her work. And then she got a text message. She hoped it would be from Yasseck… but as it turned out, it was only an answer from Nick. It read:

 _2 bad. Think Im gonna go 2 Mr Big next._

"Well, at least he's doing something," Judy mumbled to herself, still mad at her partner for leaving her alone at the station.

Not sooner than about ten minutes later, she texted him back, writing:

 _Be careful._

* * *

At that same time, Nick was over in Tundratown, trying to get through the icy streets which were crowded with protesters. Unluckily for him, the demonstration was organized by members of Anti-Pred, a prey supremacist movement, as well as those of its slightly less radical branch, the Silver Clover. Seeing that he was a predator, the angry mob refused to let him through.

Cursing under his nose, he took a look at a piece of paper which was lying on the passenger seat of his rented Wolfswagen. It was a flyer with the pictures of grass, an antelope, and a lion. A natural food chain. It must have been distributed by the same carnivores he'd desperately been trying to capture throughout the past months. He'd found the flyer simply lying on the street, as if it were one of hundreds.

 _This really is a war,_ he thought to himself grimly, hiding the flyer in his glove box.

Suddenly, something heavy collided with the hood of the car, making him jump up in shock. Noticing broken glass lying around, he estimated that it was a bottle. And he was also able to catch the sight of the one responsible for the attack.

Rolling down the window, he stuck his head out into the cold, and ground his fangs.

"Yiffing herbie! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he screamed at a terrified reindeer which was holding a sign that said _Leodore=carnivore_.

Unfortunately, the animal was not alone. Hearing the curses with which Nick addressed their colleague, a whole herd of herbivores approached the car, crying out in fury and calling the driver names like _damn pred_ and _yiffing chomper_. They clearly did not recognize him as Zootopia's hero…

That was it. Seriously angry, he kicked open the car door, and pulled his gun out. The prey supremacists took a step back…

Nick then fired a single round into the air, making everyone quiver, and showed his police badge to them.

"ZPD! This manifestation is illegal! Nobody move!"

All of the gathered animals stood in shock for a few seconds, gazing at him. Then, one of them, who seemed to be their leader, a rather cocky arctic hare, assumed a smug smirk and said:

"Oh, sorry about that, Officer. You can be sure that we won't budge by a single inch! After all, we'd hate to do anything _illegal…_ "

Sadly, this time, Nick had been out-foxed. He noticed that after realizing that the protesters were surrounding his car tightly, rendering it impossible for him to drive. The thick-furred tundra mammals crossed their arms and laughed when they saw the furious cop shivering in his thin raincoat as the snowflakes fell on top of his head…

Nick got back into his car, slamming the door, and turned on his CB radio.

"This is lieutenant Wilde, I've encountered an illegal assembly near Penguin and Frostbite… Real bad case of herbies. Please send backup, over."

He was almost about to smile back at the protesters maliciously… until he heard the answer.

"Lieutenant, this is Clawhauser speaking," the dispatcher announced rather awkwardly. " _Uhm_ , we've actually got about… twenty-three unlawful assemblies in town at the moment… plus eighteen legal ones, seven cases of battery, and two of trampling. The guys are dealing with most of these as we speak. It may take some time… Over."

Now Nick ground his fangs so hard they almost cracked…

"It's okay," he hissed. "I can deal with them myself. Over and out."

Grabbing his fedora and wrapping himself tightly in his coat, he exited his car once again. Then he turned toward the members of Anti-Pred and the Silver Clover.

"This car better be unharmed when I get back!" the fox growled at them. However, unfazed by his threats, they just stood smiling like a living wall of fur and antlers.

Thus he had to travel the rest of the road to Mr. Big's mansion, which was several blocks away, on foot. By the time he got to the main gate, he couldn't feel his tail anymore.

He had not spoken to Tundratown's crime lord since before the _Butcher's Den_ event, and he didn't really know what to expect. He hoped that, at least, the shrew would be able to tell him where Mathilda Blacktail, his former employee, was…

The gate, as always, was guarded by a huge polar bear, who was not too happy to see a visitor. The fox recognized the guard, and smiled.

" _Pree-vyet_ , Vladimir! Long time no see, c _hto_?" he greeted the fellow predator enthusiastically.

The giant animal, however, only snorted, puffing a big cloud of steam from his nostrils.

Nick then realized that Vladimir probably did not recognize him in his camouflage.

"It's me, Nicky!" he said, taking his hat off. "I dyed my fur and got some new clothes! But you remember me, right?"

The polar bear frowned in irritation.

"No. Now leave!" he mumbled in a heave accent.

The fox, however, continued to laugh. Opening his coat, he revealed his police badge, which was hanging on a string around his neck over the white shirt and black tie he wore while working undercover.

" _Vladimir!_ C'mon, it's me! Skunk butt! _Lees-militsyoner!_ Ring a bell yet?"

Sadly, it did not appear to be so… Growling angrily, enraged by the sight of the badge, the guard grabbed Nick's clothes before the cop was able to react, lifting him up.

" _Help…_ " yelped the desperate fox, remembering that he had not put a bullet-proof vest on that day.

" _Poshol von!_ " Vladimir roared in his face.

And then he tossed him over the distance of about thirty yards, straight into a heap of snow.

* * *

Angry, wet and disappointed, wearing a wrinkled fedora, Nick made his way back to the car…

Fortunately, the protesters have dispersed by then, and the only harm they did to the vehicle was to write 'APCAB' in the snow on the windshield (letters which were meant to spell out _All Predator Cops Are Bastards_ ). Grabbing a scraper, he began removing the prey supremacist graffiti…

And then he heard a strange voice.

" _Lest ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish!"_

Remembering those to be the same words he saw written over the gate of the cemetery during the Horne County Sheriff's funeral, the curious fox took a few steps toward where the voice was coming from.

He saw there something that must have been the definition of your stereotypical street doomsday preacher- an old male mouflon with a long beard, clutching a Bible and a small megaphone. Nick must have not noticed him earlier because of the manifestation.

The preacher, visibly consumed with prophetic zeal, kept on yelling whether anyone listened to him or not. The undercover cop came up to him to make sure the old ram wasn't doing anything illegal.

"OPEN YOUR EYES, YE BLIND ONES!" the animal yelled through his megaphone fanatically. "How long, I say, how long shall ye continue in your iniquities?"

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Nick approached him with a smile. "Cold day, in'it?"

The mouflon eyed him from head to toe… and then continued to cry out.

"Cold? Well, the time is a comin' when fire shall rain on this city for the transgressions of its inhabitants!"

"What kind of transgressions do you have in mind, reverend?"

"Why, are you blind, too? Can't you see the downpour of blood which has fallen, and will still fall upon this land? It has come because of the hardness of hearts of the likes of _you_! Sinners and blasphemers! Zootopia is like a whelp in the fog, the animals here can't see the writing on the wall… but I see. And I see the blood on _your_ fangs, as well!"

Unfazed by the preacher's obvious nonsense (for how could he have known, after all), Nick stretched out his paw toward him.

"Now I've got a message for you, brother. Pass me that holy book you got there, would ya?"

Reluctantly, the ram agreed. The fox then began to sift through the pages.

"Two quotes, okay? Let's see if you can recognize them. First, Matthew 27,5."

" _Judas went away and hanged himself,"_ the preacher responded almost automatically.

"Good!" Nick commended his Bible-thumping skills. "And the next one- Luke 10,37."

" _Go and do likewise…_ Hey! Wait a minute!"

With a frown of anger, the ram snatched his book from the snickering fox's paws.

"Who are you, ya doggone, blasphemin' pred? Some kinda heathen?!" he asked, outraged.

"Even worse!" retorted Nick. "I'm Catholic!"

Leaving the furious preacher cussing in the snow, the cop got back to his car, and started the engine. His smile quickly melted away, however, when he looked at his phone and saw that it still remained mercilessly silent.

* * *

 **AN: In the 'I will survive' comic, which by now has almost become canon to many, Nick Wilde actually is revealed to be Catholic. Could he really be, though? Well, he's a redhead, a cop, has an Anglo-Saxon last name, and is fond of whiskey… Most likely Irish. Which means, very likely to be Catholic.**

 **Why's that even important, tho? Well, you'll see.**

 **Right now, lieutenants Hopps and Wilde are virtually in charge of the whole ZPD, but they have to face that which is an inseperable element of being in a position of authority- the perspective of failure.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Zootopia became haunted by a series of mysterious disappearances…

Just like in the two previous instances, mammals began vanishing without trace, with no fur or paw prints left as clues for the police. Only this time, it were both prey animals and predators that went missing. Plus, the number of abductions exceeded all earlier statistics.

The public was outraged. Zootopia had suddenly turned from a peaceful place of tolerance to a grim habitat for fear and suspicion. Everybody blamed everybody- the prey animals were terrified of the predators, while the predators accused the prey of being prejudiced. The only thing that still united all of the mammals was their demand for the city officials to do something about this massive crisis. But the mayor had locked himself away, and no one could reach him anymore. Thus, dealing with maintaining safety within a metropolis on the edge of anarchy suddenly became the duty of the absent ZPD chief's deputy- lieutenant Judy Hopps.

The rabbit was doing all she could in order to assign a sufficient amount of officers to districts with the greatest threat of violence, and still have enough of them searching for the missing animals, as well as the carnivores who kidnapped them (for everyone knew that it was the doing of carnivores- the press made sure of that). The duty was an excruciatingly heavy burden for just one person, however. She began to wish that she could at least have Nick by her side again… or anyone.

Sitting at her desk one evening, constantly interrupted by journalists who were trying to contact her, whose calls she always rejected, the rabbit finally banged her fist into the keyboard of her laptop, and sat back with a groan.

Feeling a desperate desire for release from this nightmare, she grabbed her phone and dialed her boyfriend's number yet again…

They haven't spoken in over a week- since the tragic night at the Marmot Hotel, when Bogo was shot. She could only guess why Yasseck didn't want to speak to her, and the uncertainty almost drove her insane.

After the sixth tone, she cast the device on the desk angrily. Again, there was no answer.

But then she noticed the phone vibrating with the arrival of a text message.

Grabbing it without getting her hopes up, she was ecstatic to see that, indeed, the message came from Yasseck. It was in Polish, however, and read:

 _Daj mi spokój._

After she quickly pasted the words into Zoogle Translate, her ears fell when she found out that they meant 'leave me alone'…

She felt her pulsating headache increase even more. Part of her wanted to cry, but the emotion that overcame her sorrow, was anger. Grinding her teeth, deciding that she'd worked overtime already that day, she grabbed her umbrella, barged out of the police station, and drove over to the hipster district of Zootopia.

When she knocked on Yasseck's door, startled by the loud thumping, the buck opened quickly… Seeing his girlfriend's angry face, he just sighed, and invited her inside.

Judy noticed beer bottles lying around his apartment, and that Yasseck was not completely sober that evening. He also had a band-aid on his forehead, for some reason.

"Yasseck, what's the matter with you?" she began after she stood in the middle of his living room, trying hard to hold her rage in.

Her boyfriend, however, just crossed his arms, gazing at her in distaste and tapping the floor with his foot. That made her feel very uncomfortable.

" _Well?_ Aren't you going to say anything?!" she turned to him grudgingly.

The male rabbit snorted, grabbed something from the table, and came up to her.

"I didn't want to let you in at first… But here. This is for you," he mumbled, handing her an envelope.

"What's this?" Judy asked, perplexed.

She then noticed an emblem of the Silver Clover on the paper, and the organization's motto- _Pride, Strength, Security_ , the three values symbolized by each of the shamrock's leaves.

Curious about the letter's contents, she opened it and began reading aloud.

" _Dear Miss Hopps. We appreciate you submitting your application to join our cause. However, we must sadly reject your candidacy…_ What?! _We do encourage you to continue to remain actively involved in the prey pride movement…_ "

The rest of the text had nothing important in it. Shoving the envelope in her pocket, she turned toward Yasseck with indignation.

"Why did they reject my candidacy?" she inquired.

The buck simply snorted, his sarcastic attitude making her even more angry.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe it's because they thought you aren't doing a good enough job protecting prey animals in Zootopia? That's sad, don't you think? After all, you dedicate to that duty _all_ of the time you got…"

"Yasseck, please… You know about my responsibilities very well…" she tried to explain herself, but her heart was also filled with remorse.

"Oh, it's so hard for you, isn't it?" the male mocked her in a very nasty way, what was most likely caused by the alcohol he drank. "Working in the office all the time, catching meat-eaters, having to look into every hole in Zootopia day and night, running around wearing your shiny badge… And then, when you're so tired, you come to me. _O, Jacek! I'm exhausted, please rub my feets and feed me with pierogi!_ Hmph. Well, guess what, Miss Lieutenant. I'm out! I don't want to be a crutch anymore!"

Having trouble understanding the words of the drunken babble that came from her boyfriend's mouth, Judy just frowned sadly and mumbled:

"What…?"

"What, what!" Yasseck began to throw his arms around, furious. "A _crutch_! That's the word you use for this kind of relationship, yes? I am crutch to you, you only need me when you're hurting. That is only time when you use me- when you need it. And then, when you're okay again, you put me away. Like some _thing_. When ZPD call, Judy's back on duty. _So long, Jacek!_ _I'll call you when I need you to carry me again!_ "

"Yasseck, it's not like that…" the heartbroken female yelped, scolding herself for the fact that her duties have indeed been preventing her from seeing how much she was hurting her boyfriend…

But the Pole had visibly reached his boiling point.

"I've had it with you, Judy," he uttered coldly. "During the last week, I find out that being without you is less painful than being with you. So please, leave my house now. You can go to your yiffing foxy friend, if you like…"

Now that last sentence, spoken with a large dose of venom and malice, made the female officer so angry that she completely dropped her sorrowful demeanor.

"Oh, so _that's_ what this is all about, huh?!" she confronted him.

The buck did not hesitate, and challenged her fury with his own.

" _No!_ " he yelled in a fit. "Can't you understand _anything?!_ It's about _you_ , Judy! I wanted to marry _you_ , not the whole damn Zootopia Police Department!"

Yasseck stood there, panting, his eyes blood-shot. In the meantime, the female took a step back…

The look on her face made it obvious to him that he'd said a little too much.

"Marry…?" Judy repeated the word, tears shining in the corners of her lavender eyes.

The male groaned, covering his face with a paw… He then walked over to the window, gazing at the cold, wet streets of the city.

"So much for my Zootopian dream…" he hissed through clenched teeth. "When I came here, I thought this place was paradise. I thought that even more when I met _you_. But now… Zootopia is no longer a safe place for prey animals. Yesterday, I go to peaceful rally downtown, and some damn pred hit me on the head with a rock… I think I'm just going to go back to Poland."

He then turned toward her and, after wiping a tear from his own eye, said:

"Get out, Judy. I wish you luck in your job. That is your whole life, after all."

* * *

When he saw Judy on the threshold of his apartment after he heard somebody knocking, Nick was probably more shocked that Yasseck had been. He wasn't ready to receive visitors regardless of who it was, however. The rabbit could see that her partner had just thrown his green shirt over his bare torso.

For a second, both cops just stood in front of one another in silence, not too eager to look each another in the eyes…

Finally, with a blank expression on her face, Judy commented on the fox's disheveled appearance.

"Hey there, slick Nick. Are you, uh… drunk?"

The male snorted, rubbing the back of his head rather awkwardly.

" _Huh,_ I wish I could be drunk all the time… But no. Or, at least, not yet," he answered.

The rabbit then hung her head sadly, and sighed.

"Wanna get drunk together?" she offered, mumbling under her breath.

At first, Nick was completely shocked by such a proposition. He didn't let it show, however, and continued to laugh.

"I'm not sure about that, Carrots! You know how I am in the morning if I don't get my ten hours." But when he noticed the look in her eyes, he quickly added: "Alright. C'mon in…"

Suddenly, however, he froze and gasped:

"Oh, hold on a sec!"

Afterwards, he turned around, and zipped up his pants. Only then did he say:

"Okay, _now_ you can come in."

Smiling just a little bit, the rabbit hopped into the apartment, following her partner. The utter mess inside made her lose some of her enthusiasm, though.

" _Hm,_ talk about a fox burrow," she commented silently, setting her bag on the kitchen counter, right by a dirty old plate and a bottle of whiskey.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess…" the male apologized with a frown, observing as she pulled out a six-pack of Polish carrot beer she brought with herself. "I see you came prepared."

"You know that, unlike yourself, I'm not a friend of liquor," Judy answered, putting the bottles into Nick's refrigerator. Then she came up to the wall and started examining the statistics on his 'meat sheet'. "So, were you about to watch a movie, or something?"

" _Uh_ , actually, yeah. _Coyan the Barkbarian,_ part two…" he responded with a smile, using his tail to sweep a DVD cover of what was actually _Fifty Shades of Gideon Grey_ under his couch.

" _Hm_. That's some old-school cinema," the female said turning toward him, and he breathed with relief to see that she did not notice what he just did.

"You can say that I'm kind of a fan. So anyway… there must be some kind of a specific reason for your visit tonight, am I right?" he inquired, changing the subject.

The expression which appeared on the rabbit's face after he asked that question made it obvious to him that Judy was indeed on the very edge of depression. That made him feel bitter as well. In spite of their fight, he still had compassion toward his friend.

Completely overcome with sorrow, Judy was only able to whisper silently.

"Nick… Tell me. What, apart from animals eating other animals, is your biggest problem right now?"

There could only be one answer to that.

"My ex…" the fox mumbled as his ears drooped.

The rabbit looked up at him.

"Well, right now, I've got a similar problem…"

" _What?_ " Nick gazed at her in astonishment. "Are you tryin' to tell me that dang Polack dumped you?!"

Judy didn't say anything in response, only nodded sadly. But when she saw that her partner was about to recite a litany of curses, she came up to him and said:

"Listen. I don't think talking about that would help either of us. Let's make a deal- we won't mention Yasseck or Scarlet's names tonight. Okay?"

She stretched out her paw toward him. Smiling after seeing such a gesture of friendly solidarity on her behalf, the fox quickly shook it.

"Okay. I prefer drinking to whining, anyway. You've got yourself a deal!" he said, making her smile, as well.

They both then moved to the kitchenette. Judy grabbed one of the beer bottles from the fridge, while Nick took out some ice cubes and poured himself a glass of Johnny Stalker. Lighting a cigarette, he proposed a toast.

"Here's to ya, Carrots!" said the fox, holding up his glass.

" _Ekh, ekh!_ Yeah, sure…" his partner coughed after inhaling the smoke. " _Na zdrovye_."

" _Puh!_ Right. _Na zdorovye_ …" Nick snorted sarcastically.

The sound of clinging glass filled the apartment, and that was not to be the only time that night.

The duo of cops were soon able to begin a cheerful conversation, completely forgetting about their many troubles. Soon, they took their drinks and moved to the living room, where Judy kicked Nick's butt during a few games of _Return to Castle Wolfenberg_ , which they played on the fox's Z-Box. He was soon able to get even, however, massacring the rabbit in a couple of _Mammal Kombat_ matches.

A couple of drinks later, the conversation turned to rather unusual subjects.

"So you're telling me," Nick inquired curiously, "that you have a scent gland located on your _chin_?"

"Yup," confirmed his partner. "All rabbits do. We can use it to mark things with our scent and communicate with one another. We call that _chinning_. It's our little secret."

"Wow, that is so fascinating," the fox said, his speech having become a bit slurry. "Say, would you mind if I… you know…"

Reaching out with his paw, he touched the bottom of Judy's jaw, making her giggle. He then smelled his fingers.

"I can't feel anything besides, you know, regular rabbit scent!" he announced, disappointed.

"Of course not, silly!" she laughed. "You're not a rabbit!"

"Well, our own scent is said to be a lot like violets," Nick then began bragging about his own species. "That's why they call the gland we foxes have the _violet gland_."

"Really? Violets? As in, the flowers from the _Viola_ genus?" this time, it was the rabbit's turn to become interested in this impromptu biology lesson. "My mom has lots of those in her garden! I love that smell! Do you think I could…"

" _No no no_!" Nick's reaction was that of a radical refusal. When he saw his partner stretching out her paw toward him this time, he quickly moved away from her to the corner of the couch and, grabbing his tail, said: "I-I'm not gonna let you touch my violet gland! That's not something a fox would normally let _anyone_ do…"

Judy quickly took her arm back, looking terribly embarrassed.

" _Sorry!_ I didn't realize where that gland was located!"

After a moment of awkward silence, both of them took another sip of their drinks. Only then did Judy speak again, trying to break the tense mood.

"So… I'm seeing that the injuries you received in _Butcher's Den_ have all healed up, then?"

She said that in reference to the large scar which she saw on the fox's chest, which was inflicted by one of their guards, a mountain lioness called Brenda.

"Oh, you mean this?" Nick uncovered the folds of his unbuttoned shirt and touched the bald spot in his black fur where he had to have thirteen stitches done just a couple of months ago. "Yeah, all fine by now. How about your neck?"

The rabbit touched her nape, where she had to get sixteen stitches, because of a wound caused by Nick himself when he pretended to hunt her.

"That doesn't hurt anymore, either. I usually don't even remember that the scar's there."

Somehow, however, despite having recovered from their physical injuries, both of them felt something inside that made them go numb for a moment.

The first one to speak was Nick, although he did that rather hesitantly.

"How're you doing… you know, on a _psychological_ level, though?"

Judy looked away with a sigh.

"Oh, you know me… I'm trying not to think about it, and instead overoccupy my thoughts and my free time with work."

She wanted to complain about how difficult that was now after her break-up with Yasseck, but she had to stick to their earlier agreement about not mentioning their exes.

"It would have been easier if we were more successful, however," she summarized. "I'm afraid that, with our earlier experiences, we can assume that all the lost animals are dead, too…"

Noticing that she'd unwillingly introduced a badly grave atmosphere, after a moment of heavy muteness, she said:

"What about yourself? Are you hanging on?"

Nick sent her a glare, and then laughed very insincerely.

" _Huh_ , I guess you can see for yourself…" he took another sip of whiskey. "I've been having nightmares about cages, muzzles, and… you know… _meat_."

That was so incomprehensibly gruesome for Judy to hear that she didn't even know what to respond.

The fox then grabbed the ash tray, which he'd already filled up by now, from the table, and went over to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna make myself something to eat," he announced. "You hungry?"

"Uh… no thanks, I ate before I left home…" the rabbit responded.

"You wouldn't like what I have, anyway," the fox mumbled to himself, putting a leftover fishburger into his microwave.

In the meantime, Judy walked over to the fridge and grabbed herself another carrot beer. It was her last.

"You want a sip?" she asked her partner, realizing that courtesy would require her to do that much earlier, actually.

"I'll pass…" Nick frowned, looking at the herbie beverage with distaste.

They returned to the couch swaying a bit, Judy carrying her bottle and Nick- his plate. The rabbit sat down comfortably with a huff of relief…

… but the fox, for some reason, remained standing.

When the female sent him an inquisitive stare, he set his fishburger down, bent over, and suddenly pulled something from underneath Judy's butt. He then looked at what turned out to be an envelope, frowning.

"What is this?" he asked, and his voice indicated that very dark thoughts have invaded his mind all of a sudden…

At first, the rabbit gazed at the piece of paper, stupefied. Only then did she remember the letter she got from Yasseck earlier that evening.

"I-it's nothing…" she tried to explain, but the fox didn't listen. Before she was able to react, he opened the envelope, and began deciphering what was written on the sheet inside.

" _Dear Miss Hopps. We appreciate you submitting your application to join our cause…"_

He stopped there. And then he looked at Judy with an expression that made a shiver run down her spine.

"You are a member… of the _Silver Clover_?!" Nick hissed, baring his fangs and almost exploding with anger.

"No, I'm not! Read what's in the letter! My application was rejected!" the frightened rabbit stuttered.

"I do not need to read any more!" he screamed, and threw the envelope at her. Flinching in shock, Judy spilled some beer on her uniform, while the outraged predator continued his outburst. "I thought that, by now, you let go of your damn prejudices! Was it that ex-boyfriend of yours who changed your mind again? _Huh?_ Just the other day, some herbie activist from the _Silver Clover_ threw a bottle at my car, only because I'm a predator! I wouldn't be surprised if I saw your rabbit lover doing the same!"

The cruel words of his drunken stupor almost making her cry, Judy tried to say something in order to explain to her partner that he was wrong… But when he didn't allow her to interrupt him, she at least decided to find something to wipe the beer stains from her clothes.

The distraught rabbit reached out and grabbed some piece of cloth which was drawn over a small table by the couch before Nick was able to stop her.

And then both her and the fox froze, the shock caused by what they saw paralysing them.

Judy glared in disbelief at what was lying on top of the table which she'd just uncovered… It was a plastic bag, similar to the ones she'd seen countless times at the ZPD's illegal substance department.

"Nick…" the female officer gasped in horror, gazing into her partner's eyes. "Are you taking _hamphetamine?_ "

Letting out a furious howl, Nick frowned horribly…

" _Argh!_ You weren't supposed to find that!"

He lunged to snatch the drugs from the table. But his partner grabbed them before he did.

"Carrots…" he turned his bloodshot eyes at her. "I suffer from the consequences of _carnivorism!_ It's something you will _never_ be able to understand! Now… give me that bag!"

She did not obey his order, however… Standing up from the couch and backing up by a few paces, she clenched her paws around the hamphetamine she held, looking back at the fox in determination.

That made the floodgates of his wrath burst completely. Exposing his sharp claws and fangs, he began closing in on her…

Judy had seen this look in the fox's eyes before. But each time, it was only for show. She knew clearly that, this time, he was being sincere.

Nick attacked, but Judy, though just as drunk as he was, proved to be faster. Before the predator was able to reach her, she managed to perform a successful high kick, which found its target in her partner's jaw.

The fox groaned, stumbled, and moved away from her, grasping his aching face.

" _Yasseck was right! They should put a tame collar on you!"_ cried the angered female, her emotions getting the best of her.

Regaining his balance, Nick stood up, turning her way again. The rabbit's words made him laugh in a very nasty way. Wiping the blood from his cut lip with the top of his paw, he bared his red fang again, and hissed:

"You broke your promise, Carrots… Now, _give me that goddamn bag back!_ "

The sight of the dangerous animal preparing to attack her was too much for Judy to handle. Reacting instinctively, she reached to her duty belt, panting, and pulled out her taser.

The sight of the weapon pointed his way emitting electrical discharged made the fox growl in fury.

"You'll regret this!"

Pouncing toward the closet, Nick then grabbed something which the female cop, to her shock, recognized as her partner's billy club.

Swinging the tonfa frantically in front of him, the predator began walking her way.

"Nick! _Stop it!_ You're drunk! D-don't come any closer!" she warned him, still pointing the taser at him. But the male's weapon had a lot more range…

"What's the mattew? Is the big bad fox bewing mean to you, wittew wabbit?" he asked, hurting her even more.

Eventually, she began backing up. And that was exactly what the sly animal's plan was.

Forgetting about the low TV table behind her, taking one step too many, Judy tripped…

… and fell flat on the glass piece of furniture with her back, shattering it.

She had her ballistic vest on, fortunately, which prevented the sharp shards from piercing her skin. But her collapse still totally stunned her, and when she opened her eyes again with a groan, Nick was already standing over her limp body, gazing down at her mercilessly.

Before she was able to react, using his baton, he knocked the taser out of her paw. Then, crouching in front of the defenseless prey animal, he pulled his bag of hamphetamine from her grasp.

Without a word, Nick went over to his kitchen counter, cast the club and the drugs on top of it, and lit himself another cigarette.

In the meantime, Judy was able to lift up from the floor. She stood in front of him, and the two animals shared a look of mutual disdain.

" _What?_ " the fox asked her sarcastically. "You gonna file a complaint against me? Who to? Chief Bogo? _Officer Clawhauser_?"

Completely out of her mind with anger, the only thing Judy was able to say to that was:

"You are a really terrible cop!"

"Thank you," Nick responded, blowing a cloud of smoke her way. "Now get the hell out of my house."

* * *

 **AN: Dang! That didn't turn out well... Poor Judy, kicked out by both of the most important males in her life on the same night… Remember, kids- never do drugs. And never drink. And, most importantly, never be involved in politics.**

 **In most fanfiction, people try to ignore the fact that Nick and Judy are natural enemies, and make them fall in love. Well, I'm kinda going with the opposite. Here, Nick and Judy are fox and rabbit, and they do what is normal for natural foes. Namely, they fight.**

 **Well, this sucks. So... what now?**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: The soundtrack for this chapter is Bill Withers,** _ **Ain't no sunshine**_ ** _._**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Nick woke up in the state of physical and moral hangover.

It was almost one PM, and the rays of the early winter sun were trying to make their way into his apartment in spite of the shut blinds. After the huge fight he had with his partner last night, his house was even a bigger mess than before. Bottles were lying around, and the whole living room floor was covered with broken glass, as well as the remains of a fishburger which Judy had crushed with the weight of her body upon colliding with the TV table.

The state of his apartment was reminiscent to the state of his heart. He felt terribly sorry for what he said and did, especially that it was all caused by an excessive amount of whiskey… Right now, however, his body was also suffering from the consequences of hamphetamine withdrawal.

He picked up Judy's letter from the _Silver Clover_ , examining it more closely than last time. In spite of the fact that his sight was blurry and attempting to read only intensified his splitting headache, he was able to make out that, indeed, the rabbit's candidacy had been rejected. And, since she didn't seem to bother at all, he now understood that there was no real reason to accuse her of anti-pred prejudice... Though after what he did last night, those kind of feelings on her behalf would have been fully justified.

Rocking and rolling as he walked, trying carefully not to step on any glass shards, Nick then made his way to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of tap water, and drank it. After that, he downed another one.

Sitting on a stool by the counter, feeling he would probably barf if he had anything in his stomach, he again recalled the painful, hazy memories from yesterday… He felt sorry. _Very_ sorry.

What had happened could not unhappen, that was for sure, but at some point he thought that perhaps the least he could do was to call Judy and apologize. Gazing at the screen of his phone, he took some time to ponder whether she'd be willing to listen to him, or not.

And then, something completely unexpected happened.

He almost dropped the device he was holding when he heard it ringing. But the person who called him was not lieutenant Hopps.

The sound of Jimi Herdrix's song, _Foxy Lady_ , and the false name 'Mrs. Gekker' appearing on the screen, nearly made his heart stop.

It was his ex. After over two weeks of unbearable silence, she finally decided to call him back.

Answering the phone, almost breathless, he uttered her real name.

"Scarlet…"

She did not turn on the video on her side, however, so with a trembling paw, he put the device to his ear. All he could hear was the sound of his own heart, hammering like crazy.

After taking a few deep breaths, he was able to calm himself down a bit. Listening carefully, he caught the sound of another animal breathing at the other end of the line.

He ground his fangs, fearing that the yearning might kill him. How he longed to hear at least one word from her!

The female, however, for reasons known only to her, remained speechless.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, he began speaking himself. His voice was unsteady, however, and the excess of emotion made it difficult for him to express his thoughts.

"Scarlet…" he repeated. "Say something, please…"

Again, he heard nothing but silence, and the sound of her breath.

"I'm _begging you!_ " the fox then cried, his eyes flooded with real tears. Supporting his heavy, aching head with his other paw, he panted: "I… I can't sleep, Scarlet. I can't eat. I've… I-I've started taking drugs…"

He was now quivering before her, sobbing, begging her to release him from the hell of loneliness she had sentenced him to.

And the female did respond, finally. But her voice was cold and demanding.

"You know what the condition is, Nick."

Those words made the fox groan in pain… His headache had by now become almost unbearable. Angered, he hit the kitchen counter with his fist.

"You _know_ I can't do that, Scarlet! I've told you! I can't do what you're asking me for! _I cannot do it!_ "

Pronouncing each of the syllables distinctly, he made his answer clear to her. But, as she had done before their parting, she also made _her_ answer clear to _him_.

The vixen remained silent for a few seconds, and then she said:

"I'm hanging up."

Nick felt as if someone kicked him in the stomach.

"No, NO!" he literally cried. "Please don't do that… _Please!_ "

Feeling the tears streaming down his face, he could still hear her listening at the other side of the line. She was giving him one last chance to change his answer.

There was no other choice. He knew he'd hate himself, but he had to yield. Or else, _she_ would have hated him. And then, he would never see her again.

Wiping his nose with the side of his paw, he took a deep breath. And then he said:

"Fine. I'll do it. Now, _tell me where you are!"_

* * *

Officer Clawhauser was greatly surprised to see lieutenant Wilde, whom he had not seen for over a week, entering through the main door of Zootopia's police headquarters.

" _Nick!_ " gasped the cheetah, noticing that his colleague was dressed in civilian clothes, which must have meant he was working undercover all this time. "Gosh, it's so good to see you! How're you doing?"

The fox did not return the feline's smile, however.

"Is lieutenant Hopps in her office?" he asked with a straight face.

"Y-yes, I believe so…" responded the startled officer.

"Good," Nick said simply. Then, contrary to what Clawhauser thought he would do, instead of heading upstairs to see his partner, the fox walked toward the archives, slamming the door behind his back after entering the room.

He quickly found the information he needed. Writing them down on a piece of paper, he then exited the building through the back door, and sitting in his rented car, dialed a number he had not used in years.

Clearing his throat, he assumed a fake attitude of cheerfulness.

"Heeey, Lloyd! Good to hear your voice again!" he greeted the animal at the other side of the line. "Huh? Yeah, I did become a cop, you heard right… What, do you think _I_ would believe it if someone told me back then? _Heh-heh_ … So anyway, you still in business? _Noo_ , this isn't a set-up… Listen, I need to have something done on the side, get it? Of course I won't expose you! Honest to God! You know me, my word is like solid gold… No, I need something more than just a fake trade license this time. You want me to drive over to your place so we can discuss the details? Great! I'll see you there, then. Pleasure doing business with you, as always."

* * *

An hour later, Nick was driving on the highway exiting Zootopia with a file full of forged documents. His conscience ached so badly he had to turn on some music in order to silence it…

The singer's silky voice flowed from the speakers:

 _Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
It's not warm when she's away  
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
She's always gone too long anytime she goes away_

His first destination was in the small town of Ferndale, in Horne County. And he could not believe that he was actually going there again. As the fox drove down the street near the place where _Butcher's Den_ had once been, before the locals burned it, he felt a shiver running down his spine.

Many of the buildings in town were now covered with anti-pred graffiti, what indicated to him that he better make his stay as short as possible. The house he was looking for was on the outskirts, and seemed to have recently been surrounded with a new, sturdier fence.

He parked the car, took his file, and put on his coat. Though it wasn't raining, the weather outside was very cold.

He felt very awkward walking over to the door of this place… But if this unusual hustle was going to work, he needed to act natural. Ringing the doorbell, he straightened his back, and fixed his hair.

An elderly vixen appeared on the threshold, noticeably infirm, yet what surprised Nick was that she carried a delicate smile on her face.

"Yes?" asked the female, to what her visitor responded with a polite bow.

"Good afternoon!" he said, returning the smile. "My name is Robin Gekker, I'm from the New Dawn Orphanage in Zootopia. Are you Mrs. Fangley?"

Indeed, Nick was now looking into the eyes of the mother of a maniac… And the more he spoke to her, the more he understood that the female's grief must have driven her insane.

After he introduced himself, the elderly female just remained standing as she had before, still smiling. It appeared as if she had not heard him, or did not understand what he was saying to her.

"Mrs. Fangley…?" he repeated, a little creeped out.

Only then did the old vixen speak. But what she said was not what Nick expected…

" _Oscar!_ I've been looking all over for you! Come right in, sweetie. Dinner is almost ready!"

The clearly delusional female even attempted to take Nick by the paw, but he moved away.

"Ma'am, I am _not_ Oscar Fangley!" the undercover cop gasped in shock. "I-I believe you must have mistaken me for your son…"

How that was possible, was beyond him. The animal called the Butcher was a red fox, whereas Nick's fur was silvery-black. And, even more importantly, Mrs. Fangley's son had been shot dead by the Horne County Sheriff over three months earlier.

Fortunately, another fox soon saved him from the perspective of trying to explain that to the poor elderly vixen.

Soon, Nick heard a rather uneasy voice coming from inside the house.

" _Ma!_ Who is it? I told you to wait for me before answering the door to anyone!"

The female was then vigorously pulled back inside, while on the threshold appeared…

… an older version of the Butcher.

"The hell do you want?!" asked the angry old fox, carrying a shotgun in his paws. His sight made Nick flinch, and remember some of the most horrible experiences of his life…

"A-are you Mr. Fangley?" he stammered, praying not to blow his own cover.

The owner of the house eyed him head to toe. And then he put his rifle away.

"You're a fox…" he said, sounding as if he were relieved by that fact. "Thank God, I've had it with those dang herbies knockin' at my door! Yeah, I'm Oswald Fangley. What can I do ya for?"

Seeing that things weren't going as bad, Nick continued his act.

"Pleased to meet you, sir! My name is Robin Gekker, I work for the New Dawn Orphanage. I wanted to speak to you about your grandson, Ezra."

In the ZPD's archives, Nick was able to find information that Oscar Fangley's son was now living with his paternal grandparents- his legal guardians. Due to the couple being elderly, however, the kit was supposed to be given away to a foster family.

Scarlet, Ezra's mother's sister, did not want that to happen, however. She wanted to take care of her nephew herself, but that was not legally possible due to her having a criminal record of being a carnivore. And that was why the only condition under which she would let Nick see her again, was that he bring Ezra to her. Even if it meant breaking the law.

That was exactly what Nick was doing right now- attempting to kidnap a twelve-year-old.

Oswald Fangley looked at the supposed 'orphanage employee' suspiciously. Then he asked:

"What about my grandson?"

'Mr. Gekker' attempted to be as trustworthy as his vulpine slyness permitted him to be, hoping that he would be able to trick the vulpine slyness of a much older member of his species.

"I know you've been looking for a suitable foster family for Ezra," he spoke. "Well, I believe we may have found the right candidates…"

" _Puh!_ " snorted the old fox, interrupting him. " _We_ ain't lookin' to put Ezra in a foster home! It's the darn Family Court! Otherwise, Ma and I would've taken care of him ourselves. You get that?"

"I… I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to disrespect…" Nick responded, crestfallen.

Mr. Fangley waved a paw, however.

" _Ah,_ how could you've known? You're just a mammal doin' his job, after all. C'mon inside, Mr. Gekker."

The false orphanage employee was happy to see that his plan was working. But the hard part was only still ahead. And not because he felt terribly strange sitting inside the house in which a monster like the Butcher must have been brought up…

The house looked completely normal, and there were even pictures of a young Oscar Fangley with his parents hanging on the wall. When he walked in, he noticed a fox kit peeking at him from the top of a staircase leading up to the first floor. Noticing what the kid was doing, Oswald turned to him and said:

"Ezra! Go to your room now, please. We'll call ya when we're done talking to our visitor."

Both males sat in the living room, while Mrs. Fangley brought them tea. Handing him a cup, the vixen still addressed Nick as 'Oscar', which made him feel extremely awkward…

Ezra's grandfather turned out to be a careful guardian. He demanded to know every last detail about this supposed foster family. But Nick was ready. Not only did he bring forged business cards which identified him as a social worker. He also had counterfeit documents, bearing the emblem of an actual Zootopia orphanage, which described a completely fictional married couple of foxes. He had everything- their biographies, their address in a peaceful little town in a nearby county which was inhabited by a large number of predators, and even a couple of photographs. The friend from his past life, Lloyd, well known as Little Rodentia's best counterfeiter, had outdone himself this time.

Oswald Fangley looked at each of the documents carefully as Nick described to him the formalities of the adoption process.

"For now, it's only going to be a short visit," he explained. "The couple and the child need to get to know each other before we can be sure if the adoption will take place at all."

The old fox gazed at him with narrowed eyes. He would have probably been able to see Nick sweating because of the pressure he was under, but thankfully, foxes, like all canids, did not sweat.

"So you're sayin' you're just gonna drive my grandson to those people by yourself?"

"Yes, that is part of my duties," Nick forced a smile. "Normally, we would have the guardians drive the child by themselves, but due to your and your wife's age, we thought you'd rather be relieved of the trouble."

This was the _really_ sketchy part…

Mr. Fangley took a sip of his tea, seemingly pondering. And then yelled in a raspy voice:

" _Ezra!_ Come down here, boy!"

Words could not express how happy Nick was to see the kit walking down the staircase to meet him. His joy was disturbed by Ezra's appearance, however. The little fox was gaunt, apathetic, and the look in his eyes was completely hollow…

Nick knew that this young animal must have been through far worse a hell than even him. After all, during the past few months, Ezra's father was shot, his mother was executed for murder, and he himself not only dubbed the child of a beast and thrown out of school, but also put through an extensive and no doubt painful psychotherapy. For Ezra, just like his parents, had also once been a carnivore.

He now stood by his grandfather obediently, gazing at the floor.

"Ezra, this is Mr. Gekker," his grandfather said to him. "You're going to go with him to meet your new family. Be a good lil' lad now!"

Nick came up to the kit, praying that he wouldn't recognize him.

"Hello, Ezra. My name is Robin," he said softly, stretching out his paw.

The child shoot it, though he didn't look into the adult's eyes.

The hustle was a success.

"I should be able to drive him back by 8 PM," Nick then said to Oswald Fangley, experiencing an internal feeling of triumph.

"Yeah, take your time, sir. Especially if Ezra and that couple like each other," the old fox answered him, though his voice expressed sorrow rather than enthusiasm.

When the kit waved goodbye to his grandparents, acting completely passionlessly, Nick showed him to his car. After Ezra sat in the back seat, the master swindler breathed with relief.

He quickly started the engine and drove off. They indeed headed to a small town in another county, but it was much farther than the one he'd mentioned to Oswald Fangley.

Speeding down the highway, Nick turned the radio on in order to ease his nerves.

 _Wonder this time where she's gone  
Wonder if she's gone to stay  
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away_

 _Hey, I oughtta leave young thing alone_  
 _But ain't no sunshine when she's gone_

Finally, he was ready to see her.

When the music stopped, the two animals drove in silence for a while. But then, all of a sudden, Ezra asked Nick a question which almost made him crash the car…

"You're Officer Wilde, aren't you?"

Barely regaining control of the vehicle, the undercover cop swallowed loudly… But then he realized that Ezra would have to know this eventually, anyway.

"Clever, kid," he commended him. "How'd you figure it out? I thought dying my fur and wearing contacts was enough to trick anyone."

"I saw you in my father's factory…" the youngster responded silently. "I remember your face... and your scent."

That experience was painful to both of them. Taking the circumstances into account, Nick felt extremely uneasy.

"Listen, Ezra…" he began, though the words did not come easy. "I know that I was involved in the undoing of _Butcher's Den_ … and that this makes me partially responsible for the death of your parents. But…"

"Everyone keeps telling me that my parents were monsters," the kit cut him off suddenly.

Now Nick was completely dumbstruck. Looking at Ezra in the back mirror, he noticed that the little fox simply continued to stare out the window sadly.

"And what do you think yourself?" he asked finally.

The child wondered.

"They were always good to me," was his final, brief response.

"Of course they were…" Nick uttered anxiously. "But… you also know what they did to others. They killed other animals, Ezra. You know that's wrong, right?"

The kit hung his head. After a moment of hesitation, he muttered:

"Right…" And a while later, he concluded by saying: "I still wish they were alive, though…"

Nick had absolutely nothing to say to that.

They drove on, and finally, Ezra remembered that he had something else to ask of his captor.

"Where're you taking me, Mr. Wilde?"

The adult fox snorted.

"I guess you've also been able to figure out that I'm not gonna put you in a foster home, huh?" He then changed the tone of his voice to a more serious one. "Ezra, I need you to listen to me. It's possible that you won't see your home town, or your grandparents, ever again. Don't worry, I'm taking you to a safe place."

Of course, he immediately scolded himself for thinking that saying _don't worry_ to the kit in such a situation would actually work. When he saw the terror in Ezra's eyes in the back mirror, he immediately added:

"What I meant to say is, I'm taking you to your aunt."

Only then, for the first time, the youngster showed a sign of anything that could be considered as gladness.

"Aunt Scarlet?" he said with a spark in his eye.

"Yes, Scarlet. That's exactly right…"

* * *

Nick parked the car by some cheap motel in the middle of nowhere. But the address was correct.

"I'm gonna be right back. Wait here for me and please, don't get out of the car," he delivered his instructions to Ezra. The kit nodded.

Exiting the vehicle with a beating heart, he locked it, just in case. Then he made his way to the office.

The receptionist was a male kudu, who turned to him politely as soon as he walked in.

"May I help you, sir?" asked the mammal.

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone…" Nick began, but was immediately interrupted.

"Ah yes, you must be Mr. Gekker!"

" _Uhm_ , right… I am," the fox responded, surprised that the receptionist was familiar with his alias.

"Your wife told me you would come," the antelope then elaborated with a smile. "She's staying in apartment number 6. To get there, you need to walk out the way you came, and turn left. You can't miss it."

Thanking him, Nick was still able to catch a glimpse of the receptionist's book, and notice that Scarlet had indeed signed herself in under the name 'Mary Ann Gekker'. That was actually kind of heartwarming for him to see.

Without hesitation, he almost ran to the door of apartment number 6. Before he knocked on it, however, he took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down. Only then did he proceed.

"Come in!" the familiar voice, one he loved so much to hear, answered him from the inside.

When he opened the door, he noticed that the shabby motel room was filled with cigarette smoke… and the smell of violets. He felt his blood presure rising.

Scarlet was sitting on the couch when he came in, and as soon as he did that, she extinguished her smoke and stood up to confront him.

Nick was truly shocked by the vixen's changed look. It seemed he wasn't the only one there wearing full-body camouflage anymore. During their time together, when they spent their nights visiting the clubs and restaurants of Zootopia whenever he was able to get off duty, his girlfriend usually dressed in a way any other decent, good-looking female in her early thirties would. Now, however, Scarlet exhibited to him the appearance of, more or less, a punk. The long strand of hair above her forehead was dyed now bright green, underlining the color of her eyes. She also had several piercings in her ears, was dressed in torn jeans, a black leather jacket with an AD/HD t-shirt underneath, and had spiked bracelets on her wrists.

Shuffling her feet slowly and swinging her tail, she approached the male, and smiled.

"Hello there, Mr. Gekker… How do you like my new style?"

He did not return her smile, however. Even if he was intrigued by her wild appearance, he didn't let it show. She couldn't entice him with the way she looked or how she smelled anymore. In fact, his behavior was cold and passionless. He'd finally found her, and this time, the advantage was on his side.

Piercing her with a demanding gaze, he raised his paw, preventing Scarlet from touching him. He then put up three fingers in front of her eyes.

"Three conditions, _Mary Ann_ ," he uttered, his voice harsh and stern. "If you want to see your nephew, you'll do what I tell you."

The vixen lost her smile, frowned, and whined:

"Nick, stop playing games! Do you have any idea what that kid has been through?"

The male remained relentless. His response was, actually, one of anger.

"And have you even _considered_ what you've put _me_ through, Scarlet?! You vanished without a trace, without a single goddamn word! I spent days trying to make sure that ZPD didn't catch you! I only knew you weren't dead by the fact that your phone kept ringing when I called you… But still, it took you over two weeks to even answer it! _Two weeks_ of nothing but silence, which basically cut my heart in half! And what did you do when you finally decided to call me? You _demanded_ of me to kidnap a kit from his legal guardians, threatening that if I didn't do that, you'd leave me like some piece of trash! Well, guess what. I did it. I broke the law for you. But now, I swear to God, Scarlet- if you don't fulfil _my_ demands, I'm gonna return to my car, and drive Ezra straight back to Ferndale!"

Although his outburst was one of utter rage, tears appeared in his eyes as he continued to scream. And, actually, after he was done, he saw that the vixen standing in front of him shared his pain.

Scarlet did not respond with agitation. Instead, she assumed a contrite expression. So much so that Nick thought she would begin to cry herself.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled silently, delivering the justification for her sudden departure. "I had no other choice, Nick. Zootopia isn't a safe place anymore, neither for me, nor for Ezra. I needed to run away, and I couldn't let you follow… but I couldn't leave my nephew behind, either. I'm his only real family now. I knew I wouldn't be able to reach him… Not without you, that is. Don't you see? I needed your help, Nick. I needed to… _force_ you… to help me."

He could now see clearly that she was feeling terribly contrite for what she had done. And, although he did appreciate that, still he remained unyielding.

"Very well…" the vixen pulled her nose, shaking away her remorse after seeing that he just stood there in silence. "What are your conditions, then?"

"First," Nick said to her in the form of an order rather than a request, "you will _not_ give Ezra any meat. Ever."

" _Uh,_ Nick… You know well that I haven't even touched meat since Butcher got killed!" she turned her head in exasperation. But the male continued to argue with her.

"I _do_ know that. And I believe you!" He said. Then, he lowered his voice, grabbing Scarlet by the arm. "But I'm a carnivore as well, and I know damn well how hard it is to go cold turkey. The kid's been through therapy to help him deal with that. Make sure you don't spoil all of his suffering."

The vixen gazed at him, offended.

"I care about my nephew more than you do, in case you failed to notice!"

"Fine!" yelled the fox finally. "Condition number two, in that case."

Scarlet crossed her arms in anticipation, her studded bracelets making a clinging sound.

In spite of having broken the law in a grave matter, Nick could not forget that he was still a cop. Even if Judy was right by calling him terrible at doing his job.

"You will reveal to me everything you know about the remnants of _Butcher's Den_ ," he demanded.

"Nick, I already told you everything I know!" the vixen complained, her tone turning desperate. "You were there yourself, you saw everything I did… And even if I tell you that some predator who's been acquitted by the judge really is guilty, what're you gonna do? Go to his house and shoot him?"

Nick looked back at her angrily.

"Animals in Zootopia are _vanishing_ , Scarlet!" he hissed. "I'm sure you know what that means! It means that they are _dead_. This case has _got to_ be put to an end. And I know you can help me with that, just as I helped you with Ezra."

Utterly exasperated, the female breathed out heavily…

"Alright. Let me see my nephew, and I'll tell you what I know. Deal?"

"Deal," the male agreed.

"Now please, state your third demand, and let's get this over with," she hurried him, visibly anxious to see her sister's son.

The last one of Nick's conditions was the hardest one, however. The uncertainty of whether his ex-girlfriend would be willing to meet it or not was the hardest burden he carried as he drove here to meet with her after over two weeks of separation. But finally, the moment of truth has come.

Taking a deep breath, looking into the vixen's eyes with his heart pounding like a drum, he whispered to her just one thing:

"Kiss me."

After those two words resounded within the walls of the cheap motel room, Scarlet just stood there with her mouth open as if in complete shock…

But her ultimate reaction surprised Nick even more. She said nothing, only sprung up to him, and immediately joined her lips to his own.

He thought that the feeling of his terrible, profound longing being finally satisfied would make him cry out… Instead, he just groaned in joy and pain at the same time, clinging to his beloved.

The yearning couple did not know how long their kiss lasted, and their lips only parted when they both ran out of breath. Locked in a tight embrace, each of them then put his head on the other's shoulder.

"Never abandon me again," Nick ordered her, clenching his fangs as tears streamed from his eyes.

She didn't respond, but her sobbing made it obvious to him that by leaving without a word, she wasn't just causing him pain. She was also hurting herself.

But all of that was done for a reason. And that reason was outside, sitting in Nick's rented car.

The two foxes remained in each other's arms for a long time, but eventually Scarlet had to let her lover go. She still looked him in the eyes, however, smiled, and said:

"I've missed you so much, Wilde child…"

"I missed you too, Scarlet," he responded, also smiling.

The couple wiped away their tears, staring at one another as they used to before their parting, back in Zootopia. Nick wished that this could last forever…

But it wasn't meant to be that way, unfortunately.

"Take me to Ezra, please," the vixen demanded the reward for having met all of Nick's demands. "I need to leave with him as soon as possible."

" _What?!_ Where're you gonna go?" the male asked her with a note of bitterness in his voice, to what she responded by glancing at him sadly…

"Somewhere safe, far away from Zootopia. We won't be able to return with this crisis going on. I'm so sorry… I wish we could take you with us…"

With a growl of disappointment, Nick turned toward the window. He should have known it would end this way.

"… and I can't go with you because I'm a cop," he finished for her, his voice irritated and grim. "I have to take care of this _crisis_ before we can see each other again."

"Clever fox," she commended him joyfully, and attempted to put her paws on his chest. He, however, turned back to her and said:

"Let's not waste any more time, in that case."

He didn't say that to upset her. He just hated having to say goodbye to her again. The sooner that would happen, the better.

"Alright then," the vixen mumbled sadly, and put on a pair of thick glasses.

"What? It's my camouflage!" she laughed after seeing Nick's displeased expression. She then stroked the dyed hair on his head. The male involuntarily smiled.

After 'Mr. and Mrs. Gekker' walked out of apartment 6, Nick opened the door to his car. The ecstatic Ezra jumped straight out of it, and clung to his aunt as if she were his real mother. They had not seen each other in only just over three months, but in these circumstances, that really was a long time.

"Aunt Scarlet!" the kit exclaimed in what was probably his first expression of joy since his father's death, putting his arms around the vixen's neck. "You look so funny in those clothes!"

"Ezra! Oh, I forgot how big you were!" she said to him, overjoyed.

Nick observed the whole scene with a smirk.

"I don't suppose you should use your real names," he murmured to them. "You're a fox, you can pull off a skit, right kid? In that case, your last name from now on is _Gekker_. Your aunt is now your mother, her name is _Mary Ann_. As for me… well, I'm Robin Gekker, and I guess that makes me your father."

"Does that mean that you and officer Wilde are married?" the kit turned to his aunt with a smile.

" _Heh-heh,_ no…" chuckled the vixen. "Not for real. He's just my boyfriend."

Nick liked the sound of that. For the past horrible two weeks, he was sure that this was no longer true.

"Come to think of it, that means that I didn't really lie to your grandfather about _everything_ …" he said with a smirk. "But we also gotta think of a first name for you, kid. Let's see, how about… _Brendan_?"

"Hm, _Brendan Gekker_ … I guess I should be able to remember," Ezra responded smartly.

"Good," Nick summarized. "Now, however, me and _my wife_ still have some unfinished business to settle."

"Is that so?" Scarlet, or 'Mary Ann', cocked her brow with a smirk.

"Yes, did you forget?" he confronted her, and lowered his voice to a whisper. " _About our deal…_ "

Laughing out loud, the vixen remembered her boyfriend's second demand.

"Oh yes, your case, _lieutenant!_ As I've mentioned before, there is hardly anything I know which you already don't… But then again, maybe I do. Cause, as well as I can see, all the cops in Zootopia have been acting like pups in the fog for the past couple of weeks."

"What do you mean by that?" Nick asked her seriously.

Scarlet continued to grin maliciously, what was making him feel a bit irritated.

"What I'm talking about is that all you're doing out there is for nothing," she responded, as if stating an obvious truth. "Don't you understand? Your whole search for carnivores is a wild goose run! That's why the ZPD hasn't been able to catch anyone for so long! You're simply missing the real problem completely!"

"Scarlet…" the angry fox hissed, but then immediately bit his tongue. "I mean, _Mary Ann_. I need facts, not some pointless complaints!"

" _Complaints_?" the vixen repeated sarcastically. "The whole city is complaining, so why shouldn't I? So many cops, and they're all after the wrong animals!"

" _What does that mean?_ I need _details!_ " lieutenant Wilde ground his fangs, seeing that his girlfriend was not exactly fulfilling his demand after all.

But all Scarlet did in response was hold out her paw, and touch his cheek.

"Oh Rob, you're such a clever guy. I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself," she spoke softly, disarming her boyfriend with her smile. "Just remember exactly what I'm saying to you right now- _you are looking for the wrong animals._ "

With that, she took Ezra by the paw, and wanted to start walking toward her car. But Nick, though he was dumbstruck at first, snapped out of it and grabbed the vixen by the spiked bracelet on her wrist.

She turned around, and their eyes met.

"When will I see you?" he asked.

"Soon," she responded in a broken voice, with no less emotion than him. "I promise…"

He let her go, and standing alone again, he waved toward his make-believe _family_.

"Bye, Mary Ann. Bye, Brendan."

"Bye, dad! See you soon, honey!" they responded, playing out their roles.

But before the vixen and the kit both got into Scarlet's car, however, 'Mr. Gekker', unable to restrain himself, ran up to 'Mrs. Gekker', and kissed her one last time.

* * *

 **AN: Did you think that what Scarlet wanted was to force Nick to start eating meat again? Well, fortunately, she's more altruistic than that.  
**

 **Turns out Nick's love life is doing much better than Judy's. Even if he had to break the law to get Scarlet back, and as a reward, he got information that amounts to nothing... or, perhaps, it is actually _everything_?**


	9. Chapter 9

**10 favs, 20 followers! As weird as this story is, I'm impressed. Thanks, guys! This calls for an earlier update. And a new avatar.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Judy decided that she's had it with males. After all, almost all of the significant ones in her life had failed her. Her boyfriend abandoned her, her partner betrayed her, the mayor of her city turned his rump on all of Zootopia letting it slip into chaos… whereas her boss left her with the task of dealing with that chaos.

She'd cried her tears and ground her teeth for long enough. Right now, she decided to do the only thing she had left- forge both her anger and grief into zeal and determination she would use in order to eradicate every single flesh-eater who still remained in Zootopia. If Yasseck was right when he said that she had no life apart from her job, then she would devote her life to that very job.

Her underlings had already searched every inch of the city, but now it was time for her to take matters into her own paws. Donning her uniform with the insignia of a police lieutenant, she went to the only place in the city where she _knew_ she would find carnivores- the Zootopia Central Metropolitan Penitentiary.

The building at 1313 Stripes Ave was a gruesome block of concrete and stone. And it was also the home for a few dozen already sentenced former members of _Butcher's Den_ , many of whom have been put there as a result of her own work.

Zandor Thurston, the warden, was a rugged zebra stallion. He eyed the much smaller rabbit rather half-heartedly as she sat in front of the desk in his office.

"Hopps, Judith L. Good morning," he greeted her after taking a sip from his coffee cup, which had on it the biblical quote _His judgment commeth, and that right soon._ "Your reputation precedes you. A mere meter made just a pawful of years ago… and now, deputy to Chief Bogo himself, basically running all of the ZPD. I should be impressed."

He wasn't. Judy had the feeling that this mammal was indeed a close friend of her boss.

"Good morning to you as well, sir," she responded plainly, the tone of her voice nothing but professional. "Did you get my message?"

"Oh yes," he responded, taking his thin glasses off. "So you want to ask our carnivorous inmates a few questions, hm? We're trying to interview all of them, for a psychobehavioral profile. Could be a big help in unsolved cases. Most of them have been happy to talk to us. They have a compulsion to boast, these beasts. We've found nothing of substance associated with your own inquiry, though. Also, almost every single carnie violently refused when we told them that _you_ wanted to speak to them… Do you spook easily, lieutenant Hopps?"

"Not after _Butcher's Den_ ," she admitted, answering the question that came out of nowhere. "Why do you ask, sir?"

Zandor Thurston smirked.

"The only carnivore who did not refuse to talk to you, is Chase E. Quiote…"

"… the coyote?" Judy interrupted the warden.

"You know him?" the zebra gazed at her, surprised.

"He's an acquaintance of an acquaintance… Anyway, why should I be scared of him?"

The warden chuckled mysteriously…

"Oh, you'll see."

Some time later, he was leading her down the halls of the prison, toward the wing which was solely devoted to carnivores. They were held separately, as the other prisoners, especially large prey animals, did not take too kindly to them. There had been at least one reported case of a prison lynch.

When they walked into a dark, grim area which had a soundtrack of slamming doors and hoarse howls and grunts, the warden went on with explaining to Judy the rules of her visit.

"Do not reach through the bars, do not touch the bars. You pass him nothing but soft paper- no pens or pencils. No staples or paperclips in his paper. Use the sliding food carrier, no exceptions. Do not accept anything he attempts to hold out to you. Do you understand me?"

"I understand," responded the police lieutenant, trying hard not to let her mind become preoccupied with the gruesomeness of this place. This time, it was _them_ who were behind bars, not her. She needed to remember that.

The zebra walking on her side continued his discourse.

"Now let me explain to you why we insist on such precautions... On the afternoon of November 8, Quiote complained of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary. His muzzle and restraints were removed for an EKG. When the nurse, a prey animal, bent over him, he bit her on the face… The doctors managed to re-set her jaw, more or less, and save one of her eyes. Chase's pulse never got over eighty-five, even when he ate her tongue."

Judy felt her own pulse rising rapidly…

Her only response to the warden's story, however, was a question asked in a silent, yet calm voice:

"Anything else I should know?"

"Back in _Butcher's Den_ , Quiote carved up the bodies of nine animals- that we're sure of- and cooked his favorite bits," responded the zebra. "We've tried to study him, of course, but he's much too sophisticated for the standard tests. And my, does he hate us! I don't expect him to talk to you, but we have to be able to say we tried, don't we? Quiote had been a brilliant con-artist and fraud, and he knows all the dodges."

"Yeah, that I am aware of…" said the rabbit, thinking of Nick who, after all, had once been Chase's close comrade in crime.

Thurston then gazed at her as if she were an inexperienced rookie of a cop.

"Be very careful with those carnivores," he warned her. "Do not deviate from the procedures, for any reason. Just do your job, Hopps, but never forget what they are."

"And what is that, sir?" she inquired.

The zebra exhibited a disgusted frown.

"Oh, they're monsters…" he uttered. "It used to be so rare to capture one alive. From a research point of view, those flesh-eaters are our most prized asset."

They then halted in front of the barred doors to the carnivore wing of the prison, and Thurston motioned at the guard, ordering him to open them.

"I wish you luck, lieutenant Hopps," the warden said to her, exposing his large teeth in a grin.

"Aren't you going to join me, sir?" asked the rabbit.

The equine waved his head in denial.

"Sorry, I've got duties I need to attend to. _Bye_."

He then left, the sound of his hoofs echoing within the prison halls, while Judy remained alone with the guard- a rather corpulent grizzly.

"Hi, I'm Barney," the bear greeted her. "He told you, don't get near the bars?"

"Lieutenant Judy Hopps," she introduced herself, taking a deep breath. "Yes, he did."

"Okay. Past the others, it's the last cell. Stay to the middle. I put out a chair for you. I'm watching, you'll do fine."

When she finally saw the carnivore ward of the Zootopia Central Metropolitan Penitentiary, Judy understood the reason why the warden had asked her if she got spooked easily…

Before her there opened a wide corridor, flanked with cells on both sides. Her target was at the very end of it.

Not permitting herself to feel any fear or hesitation, determined to get the job done, Judy started walking on the dirty floor of the hall. Her footsteps were quickly overpowered by the sound of growling, however.

The carnivores began to feel her scent. The two first ones on her right and left whom she passed by, a wolf and a lynx, immediately bared their fangs. They both wore muzzles which had locks on the neck preventing them from being able to take them off, but when the prisoners clung to the bars of their cells, breathing with the lust for her flesh, the rabbit flinched.

Those animals had not eaten any meat in over three months. She knew that Nick had also been a carnivore who'd gone cold turkey, but he was taking heavy drugs to help him cope with his urges. The inmates in this prison did not.

She ignored their savage snarls and, closing her eyes, moved on. But her presence had already attracted all of the inhabitants of the ward. She became surrounded with a choir of beastly cacophony, which made her remember all the predators who were under the influence of the night howler serum she had once seen at the Cliffside Asylum.

On her right, Judy noticed a furious female leopard- a former city official, the one-time assistant director of the Zootopia Department of Transportation. She had been one of the few sentenced carnivores from the city's higher echelons… Having seen her first at a flesh-eater rally in _Butcher's Den_ , Judy was the one who testified against her personally. Although the feline was restrained by a strait jacket and leg irons, as soon as she noticed who appeared before the bars of her padded cell, she sprung up to her feet and, roaring furiously, screamed:

" _HOPPS!_ It's _you,_ isn't it! Oh, if I could only reach you… I would _tear you limb from limb!_ "

Jud didn't even look her way and continued to walk, feeling as the weight on her chest increased…

Unfortunately, not only the female leopard knew who she was.

"HOPPS!" the other inmates also began yelling at her. "YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO US! BLOOD FOR BLOOD! THERE _WILL_ BE VENGEANCE FOR BUTCHER'S DEATH!"

They continued to taunt her with such and similar threats. The rabbit, however, only felt as the disdain she had towards them increased.

When she was almost at the end of the corridor, the savage chanting subsided a bit. She was surprised to see the prisoner in the cell right by the one which was supposed to belong to Chase simply sit on his bed silently…

And then she almost shrieked as the crazed jackal lunged at her. Frightening the female officer, he stuck his muzzled snout through the bars, making the metal cling and shake. It was Kane De Silva, her and Nick's guard back from _Butcher's Den_. He now looked completely feral, and had several visible injuries, as if he had been beaten up by other inmates. Most likely herbivores.

"I can smell your _flesh!_ " he growled, drool dripping from his exposed fangs. His bloodshot eyes expressed nothing but fury.

Judy frowned in distaste and terror, but she knew that her old 'acquaintance' couldn't do her any harm in the strait jacket he had on.

Hastening her steps, she finally made it to the end of this hall of horrors. Behind the barred front wall, there was another one, made of thick bullet-proof glass. The interior of the last cell consisted of sparse, bolted-down furniture, many softcover books and papers were also lying around. On the walls, extraordinarily detailed, skillful drawings, mostly European cityscapes, in charcoal or crayon.

In the middle of the claustrophobically tight space, there placidly stood a coyote, gazing at her carefully. The fur under his bright orange prison jumpsuit was greyish-brown. Apart from the muzzle covering his face, he had no other restraints on.

She stopped at a polite distance from his bars, and cleared her throat. Chase smiled.

"Good morning, Judith. Good to see you again," he said as if to an old friend. His voice was cultured and soft. The gracious host.

"Mr. Quiote. May I speak with you?" the rabbit asked him as calmly as her loathing for that creature, and her beating heart, permitted her to. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed the information he could provide her with.

The predator continued to examine her, which made her feel uncomfortable. It was as if a hidden hunter was observing his prey. Judy knew well that, if it weren't for the plexi wall separating them, it would have indeed been that way.

Finally, Chase fixed his eyes on the female's shoulder.

"I'm unfamiliar with police ranks. That insignia you're wearing, what does it signify?"

"I am a lieutenant," she announced proudly, though unsure about why he was asking that.

The carnivore grinned even more.

"Ah, you were promoted for your _successes_ , weren't you? It's amazing to think that, if Brenda didn't go to the bathroom that day, you'd never have convinced Lawrence to give you his phone, and _Butcher's Den_ would still exist…" Chase chuckled as if the events, which obviously had tragic consequences for him and many of his colleagues, amused him. Judy considered that he may have lost his mind.

"May I see your badge?" he then surprised her with another unusual inquiry.

Though reluctantly, she held up her ID card for his inspection.

"Closer, please," Chase encouraged her to take a step toward the bars. When she did so, he seemed content, although not yet fully.

" _Clo-ser!"_ the coyote insisted even more.

The annoyed Judy was now basically pressing her badge against the front wall of Quiote's cell. Satisfied with her compliance, he smiled. Lifting his nostrils toward the air holes on the top of the Plexiglas barrier, he tested the air to catch the prey animal's scent.

The rabbit's paw shook and, putting away her badge, she moved back from him. The coyote continued to bare his fangs in amusement.

" _Lieutenant Hopps._ It has a nice ring to it, I admit. Please, sit, _lieutenant_."

Angered by the fact that he was the one telling her what to do, but still desiring for the conversation to continue on the good course it seemed to have entered, Judy listened again, taking her spot at the folding metal desk-chair put out for her by Barney the bear. Chase waited politely till she settled, then sat down himself, facing her happily.

Judy wanted to begin speaking, but before she did, the canid asked her another one of his strange questions.

"Now then, what did Kane say to you?" he inquired curiously.

The rabbit sent him a puzzled glare.

"Kane the jackal in the next cell," Quiote explained. "He hissed at you. What did he say?"

"He said, _I can smell your flesh_ ," she confessed, although it was something very uncomfortable for her to say.

The carnivore in front of her nodded.

"I see," he responded seriously. "I myself cannot, unfortunately. We switched places since last time, but the cage still remains... I have however been able to notice that you use _L'roitelet_ fur shampoo, and sometimes you wear _Lièvre du Temps._ But not today. You are wearing your best, freshly laundered uniform though, aren't you?"

The female officer frowned, both intrigued and perplexed by the predator's keen observations.

"You have a good sense of smell," she offered him a half-hearted praise.

"I am a canid, after all. Besides- smell, lieutenant Hopps, is what I have instead of a proper meal," the coyote announced with a maleficent smirk, making a shiver run down her spine.

"Listen here, _carnivore_ …" she then erupted, letting her irritation get the best of her.

Quiote cut her off yet again, however, lifting up a paw and saying:

"No, no, no. You were doing fine, you'd been courteous and receptive to courtesy, you'd established trust with the embarrassing truth about Kane, and now this ham-handed segue into your injured prey animal hissy fit. It won't do. It's stupid and boring."

Letting the wrinkles on her forehead smooth out, Judy relaxed her jawbones. Forcing herself to serenity, she continued:

"I'm only asking you to answer a few questions, Quiote. Either you will or you won't."

Chase eyed her for a few more seconds. Then he said:

"You must have been very busy indeed, looking for the remnant of my fellow meat connoisseurs. Busy hunting the ones responsible for all those new tragic events… Poor sheriff Batter. I personally think he deserved far worse than a simple bullet to the heart. Did your police chief send you here to ask for advice?"

"No, I came on my own behalf. Chief Bogo's still in the hospital," Judy confessed.

The coyote waved his head, as if in esteem.

"Ah, I see. The zealous underling decided to delve into the lion's lair in the absence of her incapacitated superior. That's really brave of you, I must say. Tell me, how many new disappearances has the ZPD reported recently?"

"One hundred and forty-one, up to date," responded the rabbit.

"That's a lot, isn't it?"

"Yes…" she admitted with both pain and anger, knowing full well that Chase did not feel in the least bit sorry about that fact.

"And what are the consequences?" he continued asking, more and more curious. "Is Zootopia quivering in fear? Are prey animals' mothers hiding their children whenever they see a predator in the street? Please tell me. They don't really let us watch TV in here."

Knowing that Quiote just wanted to squeeze some thrilling rumors out of her for his own pleasure, Judy decided to seize the advantage.

"I'll tell you, if you agree to answer my questions," she demanded.

A tense intermission followed. Then, smiling at the female's small boldness, the coyote said:

"Oh, lieutenant Hopps... do you think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?"

"No. I only hoped that your knowledge…" she began steadily, but Chase interrupted her. His voice remained a pleasant purr, but it reeked of pure malice.

"You're sooo ambitious, aren't you...? You know what you look like to me, with those fancy golden bars on your shoulders? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste... Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor herbie trash, are you, lieutenant Hopps? And that accent you're trying so desperately to shed- pure Bunnyburrow. What was your father, dear? Was he a carrot farmer? Did he stink of fertilizer? And oh, how quickly the bullies found you! All those nasty, insensitive little predators, calling you names and pulling your ears during recess... while you could only dream of getting away. Getting anywhere- yes? Getting all the way to the Z...P...D!"

His every word struck her like a tiny, precise dart. But she squares her jaw and wouldn't give ground.

"You see a lot, Quiote. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? How about it? Take a sniff of your own stink for a change, and write down the truth. Or maybe you're afraid to."

Chase pierced her with another one of his gruesome stares, a cryptic smile appearing on his face…

"You're a tough one, aren't you?" he inquired.

"Reasonably so," the rabbit answered confidently.

"And you'd hate to think you were just some common bunny," the coyote went on with his sarcasm. "My, wouldn't that sting! Well you're far from common, lieutenant Hopps. All you have is the fear of it."

"We're only wasting time. Are you going to answer my questions, or not?" she finally asked him, irritated.

The coyote stood up from his chair, and crossed his arms.

"A rabbit veterinarian once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some doggie snacks and a nice Chianti..."

Lieutenant Hopps was almost 100% sure that Chase was lying. But when she indicated that to him by offering him a disdainful glare as a response, he did something unexpected.

Lifting up his head, he issued a howl so powerful that it penetrated through the walls of his cell. Being heard by the other carnivores in the wing, his call was answered with a choir of loud, beastly noises, the loudest of which came from other canids.

The hair on Judy's back bristled… being able to either see the fear she was trying to conceal in her eyes, or smelling it in her scent, Quiote laughed out loud.

The howling continued for some time, and caused the rabbit to stand up herself, enraged by the way she was being mocked by them.

Finally, when the flesh-eaters settled a bit, Chase spoke as if he wanted to apologize for his behavior.

"Alright, enough frolic. The excessive amount of free time I have now seems to have caused me to forget about respecting other people's business. After all, _lieutenant_ , you do have to get back to catching those carnies, don't you?" he then sat down again, and Judy soon followed suit. "So, about those questions you have… If I answer them, what's in it for me? Enchant me, please."

Regaining her professional attitude and straightening with determination, Judy related to the coyote what kind of carrots she had dangling at the end of her stick for him.

"I can arrange having you transferred to a medium security institution outside of Zootopia," she revealed. "You'll have a much more spacious cell, maybe even a window with a view. No bullying fellow inmates, no muzzles. I've heard that even the food, _and the guards,_ are a little more likeable over there."

She lowered her voice while speaking about the guards, wondering if Chase would be interested in her offer, which was extremely generous, taking that he was guilty of one of the most heinous crimes known to the animal kingdom.

Quiote continued to exhibit a mysterious smirk.

"I reckon that, in this high-class resort at Anthrax Island, outside errands, earlier parole… and _meat_ … are all out of the question?"

"That is correct," she responded without hesitation, surprised how this deranged predator could even still ask that.

The coyote snorted with disregard.

"In that case," he said after arising, looking as if he intended to return to his desk, "you can hop back to your station, lieutenant Hopps. Hop, hop, hop…"

That was it. Judy had took being mocked by him long enough. This, plus all the frustration from earlier occurrences, made her eject from her seat, run up to the bars of the cell as if she of the two were the predator, and shout:

"Listen, you skunk-fur peddling, bloodthirsty _rat!_ I did not come all the way over here to look at you turning your tail at me. I came because _you_ agreed to talk! If you changed your mind, why didn't you let me know earlier? You could have saved me the trouble, and the gut-wrenching experience of seeing you again in this damned place!"

After she was done screaming at him, the coyote remained standing in the middle of the cell for a while. Then he looked at her over his shoulder and, pacing slowly, approached the Plexiglas wall from his side, making her let go of the bars and take a step back. He then lifted his snout again, sniffed the air, and smiled.

"My, that was very un-cop-like of you, lieutenant… I'm _thrilled_!"

Flipping his tail around, he afterward sat back down on his chair, and crossed his legs, reclining comfortably.

"You amuse me, Judith. May I call you Judith? I remember Butcher always referred to you that way. Very well, then, _Judith_ , let's talk, but please don't expect me to tell you anything that could help you catch any more carnivores. I won't give you a chance for advancement, the thing you love most…"

"Why not?!" Judy growled at him, feeling as anger and disappointment filled her on the inside.

Chase shrugged.

"I've only been in this room for three months, Judith, but I know they will never, ever let me out while I'm alive. Last Friday was my 41st birthday. As you probably know, my sentence amounts to forty-five years behind bars, no parole. You can do the math yourself, don't you?"

"I have heard the life of a carnivore in a Zootopia prison being compared to hell on earth," replied the officer, persisting in her efforts. "That's why your fellow inmates are acting the way they do, right? If you cooperate, we can make the time you have left a little less hellish..."

"… _but_ , if I don't cooperate," the prisoner cut her off, "there are two options. One of them is, that I die in jail. That is a possibility. There is another one, however. Say, hypothetically, what if the carnivores you've not yet been able to track down, did manage to succeed? One hundred and forty-one disapearences is an awful lot, don't you think? What if my remaining friends band together, and create a power which will seize control over your precious city, in spite of the destruction of _Butcher's Den_? Carnivorism would then be made legal, and all of us set free… Have you ever taken _that_ under consideration, Miss Bunnyburrow?"

This time, it was the rabbit who snorted in disregard of what he said.

"That's impossible."

"Is it?" Chase sat at the edge of his chair. "Remember that you've no idea about the exact number of carnivores still in hiding. Even your own partner, and mine too at one point, Nicky, had kept his secret pretty well, didn't he? Plus, as ambitious as you are, Judith, I must admit that it's very naïve of you to think that any real meat-eater would ever help you get to the bottom of things… Do you know why? Oh, of course you don't, I see it in your eyes. You're just prey, after all… But all that Oscar Fangley had told you back in _Butcher's Den_ , have you forgotten it? Asking a carnivore to reject meat is like asking a rabbit to stop eating carrots. It's like trying to deny a hunger which is part of your very nature. _That_ is impossible. This is precisely why the war between carnies and herbies will go on forever- because in order to eliminate all carnivores, Zootopia would have to _eliminate all predators_. And that is something which your petty laws will _never_ allow you to do."

After hearing out his monologue, Judy stood up, gazed into the predator's eyes, and uttered:

"Warden Thurston was right about you. You really are a monster."

The coyote, following her lead, also arose from his chair, cocking his head.

"Typhoid and swans came from the same God, Judith," he said with an enigmatic smile.

And then the predator, fangs and claws exposed, darted toward her without warning, making the frightened rabbit jump away from the bars of his cell and almost trip over the chair which stood behind her back. Snarling and drooling like a savage, Chase pressed his paws and muzzled snout against the bullet-proof glass.

Although there was no earthly way in which he could physically harm her, the coyote's sudden attack made the frightened rabbit shriek in horror. When he saw that, he howled, laughing like a maniac.

"HAHAHA! Did I scare you?" he cackled, smearing froth on the surface of the Plexiglas. "Aren't you gonna tell me to _bite you_ , just like last time we've met?!"

Anger quickly took the place of the fear in Judy's eyes, however.

"Kiss me under the tail, _flesh-eater_! I'll make _sure_ you don't get out of solitary confinement before your next birthday!" she hissed at him, tapping the corridor floor with her foot. Then, turning her back at the crazed canid, she started to walk away.

Attracted by the screaming, Kane the jackal noticed the rabbit walking by his cell, and cried:

"I b-bit my wrist so I c-can diiiieeee! S-ee how it bleeeeeeeeds?"

Judy turned her eyes at him for what was maybe the quarter of a second…

That was a mistake. In spite of the darkness, she was able to notice that Kane, having unfastened the sleeves of his strait jacket somehow, had indeed bitten himself… and was now licking his own blood.

Feeling her stomach turn, she began to run… The other inmates, sensing her fear, raised a demonic uproar yet again, their taunts following her even after the guard opened the door to let her out.

"HOPPS! WE'LL HAVE OUR REVENGE! YOU ARE PREY, AND SOONER OR LATER, YOU WILL END UP _EEEATENNN!_ "

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I admit it. I shamelessly ripped off** _ **Silence of the Lambs**_ **in this chapter.**

 **Well, Chase E. Quiote may just be more of a successful cousin of Wile E. Coyote than an actual Hannibal Lecter, but still, Judy Hopps basically** _ **is**_ **a bunny version of Clarice Straling. She fits the role** _ **perfectly**_ **, so I don't think I did a lot more than the movie had already done, anyway.**

 **Again, no progress in the plot, nor in the case. The only thing that progresses, is Judy's growing frustration.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Song for this chapter-** _ **The Mamas and the Papas**_ **, 'California dreamin'.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

After his meeting with Scarlet, Nick decided to finally tidy up his run-down apartment. He took out the trash, washed the dishes, and did his laundry. He also made a resolution to cut down on his drinking and, though he'd used up all of the _Hamphetamine_ before that, he forced himself to at least limit the daily amount of _Carnisol_ pills he took.

He felt better. Even if his girlfriend had gone away for an unspecified amount of time, at least he was sure that she still _was_ his girlfriend.

Although, after he was done with cleaning up his house, the fox still felt an inner emptiness. First of all, he ought to have been doing his job as a police officer, since new animals were vanishing all around Zootopia on a daily basis. Second of all, his aching conscience also urged him to call Judy, and apologize to her for his scandalous behavior…

Sitting on his couch in silence, Nick decided to take some time to meditate on what he should do first. But before he was able to come to a conclusion, he flinched, startled by the sound of a ringtone.

It was neither Scarlet nor Judy calling him, however.

It was his mother.

Surprised, the fox answered the phone, asking if something had happened, since he usually called his family home himself. Mrs. Wilde told him that everything was fine, but that she also wanted to ask if it were possible if he could visit her that day.

Nick hesitated. He knew he should be taking care of the investigation, but then again, he had no idea where else he could go. The only option was to swallow his pride, and return to the police station to humble himself before Judy, and beg her to let him work with her again… He wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet, though.

Finally deciding that he needed a break to clear his thoughts, he agreed to drive to his mother's house for a short visit. Mrs. Wilde responded joyously that she would be expecting him.

Exiting his apartment, the fox buttoned up his coat. It was December already, and the weather in the non-tropical parts of Zootopia was quite chilly. He got into his Stallion Convertible, and started driving. The city streets were half-empty. Even the manifestations had almost ceased, as all were afraid of suddenly disappearing without a trace, just as many animals already have. On the sidewalks, there were patrols of armed ZPD officers. Civilians mostly remained at home, in growing fear and mutual distrust, fueled by the press. In spite of the season, there was also significantly less Christmas decorations than last year… or any year.

He parked the car in the mid-town district of his childhood, which now looked almost deserted. Seeing the familiar buildings made him sigh with nostalgia… especially when he stood before the house at 1955 Cypress Grove Lane, where he'd lived up to the moment when his shady activities allowed him to finally become self-sufficient.

He rang the doorbell, and soon a young female rabbit, dressed as a nurse, stood on the threshold.

"Good morning, Mr. Wilde," she greeted him politely.

"Hi, Jennifer," he answered. "How's my mom doing?"

"She's fine, thankfully," the nurse said with a smile. "Come and see for yourself."

Mrs. Wilde was an elderly female, and has had trouble walking for the past few years. She therefore required the help of a caretaker. Nick hired Jennifer himself, and paid her with his own salary. That was the least he could do for the vixen who gave birth to him, since his job prevented him from taking care of her himself.

After removing his coat, he took his handkerchief from his pocket, and blew his nose. The red piece of cloth had been given to him by his mother ages ago. He also saw his old family photos on the walls- the oldest depicting him as a mere kit with his parents, and the latest- his graduation picture from the Zootopia Police Academy.

He entered the living room, which had the same green wallpaper with palm leaves on it as decades ago (they were never exactly a wealthy family), the pattern he liked so much he also wore it on his shirt. In the middle, by a small coffee table, there stood a wheelchair in which a vixen in her sixties sat, looking his way with a motherly smile.

" _Nick!_ " the female called his name affectionately, opening her arms. "Come over here, my little Ranger!"

Her son embraced her, and then kissed the red fur on top of her head.

"Hi, mom. How's it goin'?" he asked, returning the smile.

"Is it cold outside? I heard you blowing your nose," Mrs. Wilde asked with concern, which made her son laugh.

"Yeah, it's cold alright, but don't worry. You know I don't get sick that easy."

"Oh, you never did. Not even when you used to work in Tundratown with Finnick, that friend of yours."

" _Huh-huh._ Right…" Nick chuckled awkwardly.

What he always made sure of was that his mother did not even know the tenth of all the activities he had been involved in. If she did, she'd probably gotten a heart attack a long time ago. Mrs. Wilde was very happy and proud that he was in the force, however, regardless of what she did or did not know about his past life.

At that moment, Jennifer brought the two foxes some tea.

"This should warm you up," said the vixen after thanking the nurse. "I still can't get used to that new look of yours, dear…"

Taking a sip from his cup, Nick laughed, noticing the way his mother was looking at him.

"I told you, mom- it's only temporary. Don't gaze at me as if you wanted to disown me for dying my fur!"

" _Hm,_ well, I'll think about it," Mrs. Wilde retorted with a smirk. "How's your case coming along, anyway, _lieutenant_? Any new carnies you managed to hunt down, snoopin' around the city in your horrible sliver fox camouflage?"

Nick really didn't like talking to his mother about these things. Every time she mentioned the word 'carnivore', he flinched, remembering that he had once been one himself… and if the female found out about that, it would have undoubtedly broken her heart. As if having to live through her son's kidnapping just a few months prior was not enough for the elderly vixen already.

"Judy and I are doing our best…" he mumbled, "… as are all the other ZPD officers. We'll get 'em all, eventually…"

"You don't sound too convinced, Nick," Mrs. Wilde pointed out, aptly recognizing his condition by the look in her son's eyes.

Looking away, the abashed fox took another sip of tea. His paws were shaking a little, and he wished he had some whiskey he could pour into his cup.

"You know how it is, mom," he tried faking a smile, though he knew perfectly well that, with her, it was impossible. "The ZPD ain't like the Junior Ranger Scouts. It's a drag, especially now. Lot 'a work, little sleep, sometimes even less actual results. But if you wanna wear that uniform, you just gotta keep doing it."

He said that even though he was not wearing his uniform, and he had not really been doing his job for a long time…

His mother looked at him compassionately, though.

"Poor boy. Here, let me give you something that might cheer you up," she said with a consoling smile. She then pulled out a thin, square box of candy, which Nick immediately recognized.

"Oh wow! An Advent calendar!" the fox gasped in joy, genuinely happy with the gift which reminded him of the early, brighter years of his life. That was a very nice change, especially that the conversation was starting to shift to very difficult topics.

Showing his gratitude, Nick kissed the vixen on the cheek.

"What's the occasion?" he inquired, already pulling one piece of chocolate from the little paper window, and popping it in his mouth.

" _Heh-heh._ Don't you remember?" Mrs. Wilde chuckled. "It's your name day today! So happy name day, darling!"

Checking his phone, the fox saw that, indeed, the date was December 6th. St. Nicholas' day.

"Well I'll be darned, I totally forgot!" he snorted, amused with his own carelessness. "Most people don't really celebrate name days."

"You sure you're not overworking yourself?" his mother inquired.

After taking out the sixth piece of chocolate from his Advent calendar and eating it, Nick mumbled:

"Hardly…"

He was trying to pretend that he was in a better mood than actually, but even the candy wasn't helping him much. The old vixen, with her motherly instincts, could sense that in spite of how he acted.

"What's wrong, dear? Don't lie, I can see that something's biting you like a flea in your fur," she gazed at him, true concern in her eyes, and began stroking his forearm with her paw.

The fox hung his head. Denying it was pointless, but he also couldn't possibly tell her the truth.

"Sorry, mom. Police business. You know, top secret stuff."

"Well, do you have anyone who can help you with that?" Mrs. Wilde kept asking.

"Not really, at least not at the moment."

"Not even that bunny partner of yours?"

"Judy is… busy with her own duties right now," he answered evasively.

Then, after a moment of pondering, it seemed as if his mother had gotten an idea.

"Tell you what," she said enthusiastically. "Why don't you go talk to Fr. O'Rinse? He's the smartest mammal I know. He's helped me many times, especially when you went missing."

Although Nick was obviously grateful to the old priest for helping his mother in her tough times, he really had no idea how he could be of any service to him.

"Mom, I think I need something else than prayer…" he answered, disinclined toward the proposition.

Mrs. Wilde, however, was a stubborn vixen.

"Oh, Fr. O'Rinse is more than just an animal of prayer! Plus, you can be sure he'll keep all your cop secrets to himself. Listen- I got another idea."

Smiling slyly, she reached under the coffee table, and pulled out a chessboard.

" _Huh._ You still got that old thing?" Nick asked in amusement, knowing where this was all leading to.

"Sure! C'mon, let your old mother show ya what she can still do. If you win, you'll act as you please. But if _I_ win, you'll listen to my advice. So what'll it be?"

Given what was just the illusion of free choice, with a sigh of surrender, Nick agreed.

Now Nicholas Wilde was no rookie chess player. Back in high school, he'd been the acclaimed champion for five consecutive semesters, up until graduation. Challenging others for a game was always a good way for him to make an extra buck. He'd gotten so good that, eventually, he didn't even have to cheat anymore.

But he also had to admit one thing- all that he knew, he learned from his mother. He used to be able to beat her back in his prime, though unfortunately for him, he'd not sat in front of the board for years.

He had no idea what kind of sly tricks Mrs. Wilde used… but it only took her less than fifteen minutes to best him.

Nick cursed internally when he heard the old female saying 'checkmate' with a triumphant grin on her face. He really thought that talking to some old cleric was a waste of time. But a bet was a bet.

After having lunch with his mother, he said goodbye to both her and Jennifer, promising to call next week. He then got to his car, and driving just a few blocks down the street, parked it by a small gothic structure of grey stone, a relic of the past squeezed between modern apartment buildings. Old St. Petrick's- his parish church.

The secretary at the office told him that Fr. O'Rinse was working inside, hanging up Christmas decorations. Nick therefore headed that way. The sooner he could get this meeting over with, the better.

He entered the chilly walls of the empty temple and started walking down the aisle. The colorful lights from the stained-glass windows danced on the old wooden surface of the pews.

Fr. O'Rinse, an elderly raccoon, was standing on the high pulpit, hanging a garland. As soon as he saw the other animal walking into his church, he pierced him with a stare, leaning over the edge of the ambo, and cleared his throat loudly.

Embarrassed and mad, Nick remembered that it was disrespectful to just walk into a Catholic church like that. Understanding what the pastor was hinting at, though reluctantly, he returned to the entrance, dipped his paw in holy water, and crossed himself.

By the time he did that, the priest was able to get down from the top of the pulpit. When Nick approached him, he noticed that the raccoon had aged a lot since their last meeting. Only his black clerical shirt remained the same.

"May I help you, sir?" he asked suspiciously. The fox bowed his head slightly.

"Fr. O'Rinse. You probably don't remember me. I'm Nick Wilde."

Suddenly, the raccoon's eyes went wide. And then, he smiled, shaking the visitor's paw.

" _Nick Wilde?_ Goodness, of course I remember you! You were an altar boy here once, years ago. Happy name day, by the way. Good Lord, why did you dye your fur? And those red contact lenses… You look like the devil himself!"

The priest laughed jokingly, making Nick smile himself. He had to admit- he remembered Fr. O'Rinse to be a nice figure from the time of his early childhood. Even though he ceased being an altar boy at the age of 12.

"Yeah, well, my mom probably told you that I'm a cop… You know, I'm doing undercover work, and stuff."

"Yes, I visit your mother about once a month," the priest continued as they sat in one of the pews. "She's very proud of you, you know."

All of a sudden, however, fluttering his bushy eyebrows, the raccoon gazed at Nick seriously.

"Your case isn't going well, isn't it, lieutenant?" he uttered. "You're looking in all the wrong places."

The fox froze. Struck by the eeriness of that statement, as well as its accuracy, he remembered a similar observation which Scarlet had revealed to him.

"How can you know that?" he asked the priest, frowning at the idea that he might have been playing tricks on him.

Fr. O'Rinse chuckled.

"I know my sheep… and my foxes."

Noticing that Nick just continued to glare at him as if he were a madman, the raccoon cleric asked:

"Nicholas, do you believe in God?"

"… yes," the fox stammered out after a moment of hesitation.

Fr. O'Rinse narrowed his eyes.

"Are you a Catholic, though?"

Not sure what this interrogation was good for, the cop sighed in exasperation.

"I guess the word is _lapsed_ , right? But why is that even important?"

"Oh, it's _very_ important, compared to all those irrelevancies you've been focusing on…"

Another cryptic smirk appeared on the priest's face, and Nick had a strange feeling that he knew more than he should, for some reason. Or perhaps he was just playing some sort of a strange game all the time? He couldn't tell. But his foxy pride did not let him cope with the perspective of being outwitted.

"What do you have in mind, father?" he asked directly.

"I can see that there's something troubling you," the raccoon responded in a more open manner. "I mean, why else would you've come back to this church after, what, twenty years? You're a successful police officer having trouble with his case. And yet, instead of all the other people you could go to, you come to me. Your main problem is therefore of a personal, not a professional nature. Am I right, m'boy?"

For a moment, the fox continued to gaze at the raccoon suspiciously. And then he snorted.

" _Hmf!_ Are you trying to force me to go to confession?"

"I don't know. Do you _want_ to go to confession?"

"No, I don't."

"Then, I cannot _force_ you to it. If I did, it would have been invalid. You still remember what I taught you in Sunday school, right?"

The remark made Nick laugh.

"Barely…" he said. But he also had to hand it to the old pastor- he was right. If his mother was saying the truth about Fr. O'Rinse, then maybe he really could use a sample of his supposed wisdom? The thought made him dread… but, indeed, he did remember something from Sunday school.

"If I tell you… and you pass the info to anyone else, especially my mother… you'll be excommunicated. And that's, like, worse than death, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," chuckled the old raccoon.

Nick bit his lip, feeling increasingly awkward.

"I'm… warning you, though, father. This is some nasty stuff…"

"Nicholas, I've been hearing people's confessions for the past forty years. I've seen it all. There's hardly anything you can say that might shock me," the cleric revealed to him in order to give him some encouragement to release the weight he'd been carrying in his heart.

The fox would not give his secrets away for free, however.

"Tell ya what, father," he assumed a smug grin which replaced his anxious frown. "What's that Latin phrase? _Quid pro quo_ , right? I'll tell you something if _you_ tell me something."

The old mammal lifted one of his bushy eyebrows, quite taken aback.

"What do you mean?" he said with significantly less self-confidence.

Nick understood that this was his opportunity to seize the advantage in their conversation.

"You're good at hearing people's confessions, father, but what about confessing yourself, huh? There've been rumors circulating around the parish for years. I've never paid much attention to that, but I'm sure that many sheep from your flock would like to know the truth. In school, we always wondered who little Molly Washer's daddy was. We never saw any male coon taking care of her, only her mom, and no one ever believed in a miraculous conception. Plus, you probably know what the word in the street is…"

Before Nick was able to finish his malicious monologue, with a heavy sigh, the priest stood up and looked at him with sad eyes. The fox dropped his smirk.

"Nicholas, do you know what the greatest paradox in the life of a priest is?" the old raccoon asked seriously.

"No…" the cop mumbled back awkwardly.

Fr. O'Rinse then looked away and, with pain in his voice, said:

"It is when other people's children call him _father_ … while his own children call him _uncle_."

Nick understood perfectly what that meant. And, frankly, he was in shock. First of all, he was just joking- he always thought that those rumors were untrue. Second of all, even if they weren't, he was sure that the priest would never be as sincere with him…

His mouth agape, the fox just sat there for a while, unsure of what to say. Only after a minute was Fr. O'Rinse able to look him in the eyes again.

"It's probably no use to try to justify breaking my vows, but… It was a one-time mistake, believe me. Molly's mother and I were young and lonely… _Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds_ , you know... We later agreed not to mention it to anyone. I paid for my daughter's education with my own salary, I never used any of the parishioners' money."

"Does she know?" Nick was finally able to ask.

"Molly? Oh, heavens, no! And she never will. Especially not from _you_. _Excommunication_ , remember?"

Smiling, Nick made a motion as if he were locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

"Hey, father. We're all just animals, right?" he said to cheer the old raccoon up.

But the priest kept eyeing him closely.

"Indeed. Now, _quid pro quo_. What kind of a terrible sin you've committed that can scandalize me more than my own?"

There was no way to talk himself out of it now… Nick felt the hair on his back bristle. His mouth suddenly felt very dry, and it was hard for him to speak. But he had to confess. His heart felt pain, though he knew perfectly that closing it right now would only make things worse.

"I'm… I have been… a carnivore," the fox stammered, hanging his head as tears suddenly flooded his eyes.

He wasn't able to notice Fr. O'Rinse's reaction, but that was indeed probably the last thing the priest expected a former member of his flock to have committed. After all, Nick was a widely respected police officer… a carnivore hunter… one in whom all of Zootopia had placed their trust.

"We are all indeed just weak animals…" the raccoon stated in utter shock.

He then walked over to the window in silence. Using the opportunity of the priest having his back turned at him, Nick quickly took out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes and nose.

The raccoon gazed at the glass depiction of a deer, dressed in green, holding a bishop's staff. He then turned around, looking toward Nick again.

"Did you know that St. Petrick drove out all of the serpents from Ireland?" he asked.

"No, I haven't heard that legend before," the fox responded absentmindedly.

" _Puh!_ I find you lack of faith disturbing, m'boy!" the cleric retorted, appalled. "It's not a mere legend, it's the truth! He was travelling around the island, spreading the Gospel, when those wicked reptiles stood in his way, threatening to poison him. So Petrick prayed and fasted, and one day, God made all of the snakes slither away and vanish into the depths of the sea. To this day, there isn't a single serpent living there. It's like with our sins, you know. They bite and poison us, until we ask the Lord for help. Only then can we really be healed. Do you remember St. Petrick's prayer, the one I taught you kids in Sunday school? The one called the _Deerscry_?"

Fr. O'Rinse then turned toward the church's sanctuary and, in a poetic voice, began to recite the prayer in the parish patron's native tongue.

" _Atomriug indiu niurt Dé dom luamairecht. Cumachtae nDé dom chumgabáil, ciall Dé dom inthús…"_

Nick interrupted him, reciting the easier, children's version of the same.

"Yeah, yeah. I remember. _This day God sends me strength to sustain me, might to uphold me, wisdom as guide. Your eyes are watchful, your ears are listening, your lips are speaking, friend at my side_ ," he spat out in irritation. "That's very nice, father, but I'm sure the scientists would say that there never were serpents in Ireland to begin with!"

Turning toward him, unfazed by the fox's anger or his rationalism, the priest said with true concern:

"But there are serpents in your soul, Nicholas. They hide there, like the reptiles in Zootopia's underground."

Now that statement, even more ridiculous than the first one, made the cop laugh out loud.

" _Ha!_ That's just an urban legend! There are no reptiles lurking under the streets, and there never were!"

"The very same thing used to be said about carnivores in general not so long ago, don't you remember?" the priest responded, making Nick silence. "Tell me, why are the other priests from the city warning me, concerned about the growing number of draconists they are encountering?"

" _Draconists_?" the fox repeated the term he was unfamiliar with. "What's that?"

"The worshippers of the Dragon, Nicholas!" Fr. O'Rinse uttered as if Nick was ignoring an obvious truth. "The followers of the Devil himself! Are you going to dismiss that as an urban legend too, just like the press has? Well, I've seen their emblems. I've seen the cemeteries they've desecrated. And you know as well as I do that the ones who are responsible for that, are the reptiles. Reptiles who, until this very day, are mostly banned from Zootopia, at least officially, because they still practice _carnivorism_. And, unlike you, they are _not_ sorry for it!"

In normal circumstances, Nick would have dismissed these tales of Dragon-worshippers and carnivorous reptiles living in Zootopia clandestinely as fables of a religious fanatic, similar to the screams of the street preacher he met back in Tundratown. But after what he'd been through, he wasn't sure about that anymore.

Actually, another thought would not leave his mind. The very hint he received from Scarlet, about the whole ZPD investigation being completely mislead.

 _You are looking for the wrong animals_ , she told him repeatedly.

Could it be…?

A sudden hunch hit the fox like an illumination. Arising from the pew, he turned to the priest and said:

"Sorry, Fr. O'Rinse. I gotta go. Thanks for your time."

Before he left the church, however, he still heard the raccoon's voice, addressing him from behind.

"You'll be back, Nicholas."

Looking over his shoulder, Nick glared at the pastor.

"How do you know that?" he asked, perplexed.

The priest smiled mysteriously, and said:

"Cause I'll be praying for it, m'boy."

* * *

The county officer at the counter of the Horne City police station was a buff black stallion. When Nick entered through the door of the building, he gazed at him suspiciously.

"Let me see the files from sheriff Batter's assassination case," demanded the fox, almost causing the horse to choke on the coffee he was drinking.

" _Whoah!_ Hold on there, chomper!" the herbivore responded to the predator's staunch request with anger. "Who the heck are ya, anyway?!"

Without a word, the undercover cop threw his badge on the surface of the desk.

"Lieutenant Nick Wilde, ZPD," he said as the startled county officer examined his ID card closely. "Now, where are those files?"

Although reluctantly, the stallion did show him the documents he requested. However, he forbade the fox from taking any of them with him.

Nick sifted through the papers quickly, his anticipation growing with every passing second…

And then he found it. Preserved in a plastic bag, there was a piece of paper with tiny droplets of blood. The flyer which was found by the Horne County Sheriff's body. On the back, it indeed had the word _war_ scribbled in large letters. On the front, there was a depiction of a natural food chain.

Only that this one was different than those which had been distributed by the recruiters from _Butcher's Den_. That was because it had on it the pictures of grass, a deer…

… and a crocodile.

He couldn't believe it. Still, it may have been just a coincidence… but he had a strong feeling that it was not. He knew he ought to call Judy now, who had only heard of the flyer, and never saw what was really depicted on it. The perspective of speaking to her after what he'd done still made him shudder, however.

Instead, he took a picture of the front of the flyer, and sent it to his partner's number with the words:

 _We are looking for the wrong animals._

* * *

 **AN: This chapter is inspired by Chapter 9 of Franz Kafka's** _ **The Trial.**_

 **Thus,** **the tenth part reveals to us what this story is actually about- the enternal war... between furries and scalies.**

 **Heh-heh, just kidding XD _Illuminati confirmed_ , though! And they are, in fact, reptiles. Remember that Nick and Judy saw a couple of them once back in _Butcher's Den_? ;)  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Lieutenant Judith Laverne Hopps was sitting in the chair at her office, and banging the surface of the desk with her fingers.

Before her, standing to attention, was lieutenant Nicholas Wilde. He was dressed in a bullet-proof vest put over his uniform, which had been freshly laundered and ironed. His silver-black fur was perfectly groomed, and even his navy-blue shirt was buttoned all the way up.

They were equal in rank, but right now, the fox stood before the rabbit with a bitter expression of regret and lowliness.

Her eyes, however, were filled with sparks of anger, which made their violet color seem even more electrifying. Judy was indeed furious with her partner for his scandalous behavior, especially that it had been her who recommended him as a candidate for the Zootopia Police Academy in the first place.

But, then again, they had been close friends. Nick had risked his life multiple times for her back in _Butcher's Den_ , and went through an incomprehensible amount of suffering during that horrible time. Plus, on that fateful night, they were both drunk… and Judy herself had also said things which she now regretted.

Now it seemed that Nick had sobered up, and finally decided to dedicate himself to the case they were both responsible for. Perhaps, she would be able to forgive him… but not immediately.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't ask chief Bogo to have you degraded," she growled, continuously giving him the stink-eye.

Nick gulped loudly, frowned, and mumbled:

"Judy… I-I can't even begin to express how sorry I am… I know I acted like a total jackass…"

"You did worse than that," the rabbit interrupted him, crossing her arms. "You've disgraced your uniform. Referring to me by my first name, what you do only on rare occasions, isn't going to help you."

His ears drooping, the fox took a step forward, and put his paws on her desk.

"I wasn't being myself, okay?" he yelped, and sighed. " _Ehh_. Look. My girlfriend had dumped me without a word. I was borderline suicidal. Plus, you know that I was under the influence…"

"And why shouldn't I report that?" Judy remained unappeased. "Not only can I remove you from the force, I can also have you thrown in jail for possessing hamphetamine. How about Stripes Avenue? I've been there recently, you know. You've got a lot of old friends there. Chase, for example. Or the charming jackal, Kane De Silva…"

"Judy, _please!_ " this time, Nick's voice became desperate. "I-I'm not gonna do that again, I promise! Just give me one more chance… We gotta do something about this reptile thing. Please, I'm begging you- let me help you…!"

He was almost reduced to tears. Seeing that, the rabbit lieutenant rolled her eyes. Pulling her chair away from the desk, she hopped down to the floor, and walked over to stand in front of her partner. She then gazed up to look him in the eyes.

"You foxes are so emotional!" she uttered. Then, the muscles in her face relaxed, and her frown was replaced with a delicate smile. "Alright, slick Nick. You get _one_ more chance. Now, about those reptiles…"

She wasn't able to finish as the fox, shocked with her changing her attitude all of a sudden, howled in joy. Surrounding her with his paws, he made a sudden twirl, swinging her around like a limp thing.

"Oh, _thank you,_ Carrots! You almost had me there! Thank you so so very much!" the redeemed cop laughed happily.

"Hey, hey! Settle down, chomper!" Judy also chuckled, trying to regain her balance after he finally put her down. "One more antic like this and I'm gonna have you put in the same cell as Chase for assaulting an officer!"

Nick grinned at the obvious joke.

"Hey, how's my old pelt-peddlling partner doing in the slammer, anyway?"

"I'd say the right word is that he seemed… _psychopathic_ ," Judy responded, the memories of her visit to the Zootopia Metropolitan Penitentiary still filling her with disgust.

Lieutenant Hopps then went back to her chair, and opened a file she'd prepared.

"Now, once we've settled our personal squabble… let's get back to work," she said.

" _Puh,_ you're just as addicted to that as I am to other things," jeered the fox, unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie. "I've missed your professional attitude, though."

The rabbit narrowed her eyes.

"Nick, just focus on the case, okay? Animals are disappearing every day, and until you actually looked at that darn flyer, we were all at an impasse. If _you_ had a professional attitude yourself, maybe we'd be able to know something earlier, and some of those kidnappings could have been prevented!"

That, unfortunately, was the truth. Hanging his head, the humbled male said nothing more.

Judy then looked at her documents.

"Okay. I'm sorry to say this, but you're gonna have to take your uniform off again."

The startled officer gazed at her.

"Not right now, I hope?"

" _Uhh!_ No, not right now, stupid!" she groaned, not appreciating him trying to turn everything into a joke. "Go home and get changed! If this whole mess is really caused by herps, like you said, you gotta go talk to some scalies to know for sure, don't you? I want you to go to the City Hall undercover and speak to the ambassador of Scaledonia. I guess he's like the boss of Zootopia's reptile minority. Try to get as much info from him as you can, just don't let him find out who you are. I guess that's a job a savvy fox such as yourself should have no problem with."

Indeed, Judy had done her homework.

" _Huh,_ I'm impressed, lieutenant Hopps!" her partner commended her with a smile, taking the sheet with the ambassador's data from her. The rabbit herself, however, was not as enthusiastic.

"Yeah, well, do your best to impress _me,_ alright? You've got a lot of catching up to do in that matter!" she then changed the subject. "By the way, how come you're so sure that this whole mess is really only caused by reptiles? There's, like, close to none of them actually living in Z-town."

Nick hesitated with answering. After all, he couldn't possible reveal to her that he came up with that idea after talking to some priest.

"I have a hunch, alright?" he responded enigmatically. "Besides, both you and I saw scalies at the carnie rally back in _Butcher's Den_."

"Yeah, we did…" mumbled the rabbit, not really eager to recall those events. "Well, good luck at the City Hall, then."

"And what are you gonna be doing in the meantime, pray tell?" he inquired.

"Oh, don't you worry your dyed red head, _Mr. Gekker_!" she sneered, hopping back on her chair and turning the computer on. "While you're away doing your undercover mission, I'll be hunting another reformed carnie fox."

Nick really did not appreciate her mentioning his former carnivorism openly like that… but he decided to let it go this time.

There was only one such animal which Judy mentioned, whom he knew of.

"You're trying to find Lawrence, aren't you?" Nick mentioned Oscar Fangley's foster son, the very contrite flesh-eater who helped him and his partner get out of _Butcher's Den_.

"That's right," the rabbit responded bitterly, logging in. "He remains under the witness protection program, but we've not been able to locate him yet."

"Well, good hunting, then," the fox wished her before exiting her office.

"Yeah, you too. Just don't get eaten by those herps!" she answered him, and they shared a final smile of comradery.

* * *

The embassy of Scaledonia, a distant metropolis which was basically the reptiles' equivalent of Zootopia, was probably the smallest room within the City Hall, and consisted of a single office. But, then again, the scaly minority within the state which had been established by mammals and for mammals, was indeed very small.

Nick stood before the door dressed in suit-and-tie, with his ballistic vest underneath his costume. He was also carrying a briefcase, which was meant to make him look like a businessman.

Truth be told, even though he'd seen reptiles in the city streets at times, he'd never spoken to any of them. The scaly animals had an opinion of being _weird_ , and mostly kept to themselves.

He knew that the ambassador's name was Allastor LaCoste, and that he was not only a respected representative of his race, but even a member of the city council. If anyone could deliver him extra info about the reptiles living in Zootopia, either legally or illegally, it was him.

Fixing his fancy new tie, Nick cleared his throat, and knocked on the door of the embassy.

"Come in, please," a low, rumbling bellow answered him from the inside. The cold sound made him feel a little uneasy… though, deciding to perform his act like the experienced con-artist he was, he entered the room with a toothy grin.

It was hard for him to maintain that confident demeanor when he saw the creature inside the room, however.

The ambassador was a crocodile of truly horrifying size, more than twice the height of the fox. He was dressed in a green suit and tie. When Nick entered the room, the reptile stood up from behind his desk politely, and confronted him, looking down at the mammal with his eyes, the pupils of which consisted of longitudinal, vertical lines…

"Allastor LaCoste," the ambassador of Scaledonia introduced himself, bending down and stretching his scaly arm toward the fox.

The herp's hand was weird, hairless, and had as many as five digits with claws that looked intimidating even though they were filed down. Nick looked at it a bit hesitantly… but then forced himself to shake it. To his surprise, the creature's skin wasn't cold, but rather lukewarm.

"Robin Gekker," he stated his false name with a smile, relieved by the fact that the hard part was already behind him.

"I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Gekker. Please, have a seat," Councilor LaCoste responded, no type of emotion resounding in his voice whatsoever.

The mammal and the reptile then sat before one another at the ambassador's desk, which was made of plain wood without any decoration, just like the rest of the rather raw interior of the office. Nick noticed one interesting thing which lay on the desk, however- a book which Allastor must have been reading. It was Friederich Itchy's _Thus spake Zarathustrat_ , a title he was unfamiliar with.

"I understand that you would like to apply for a Scaledonian visa, Mr. Gekker?" the crocodile asked, making the fox focus on the conversation.

"Yes, that is correct," Nick answered him enthusiastically, ready to unravel the main part of his act.

LaCoste remained silent for a while, as if pondering.

"You know," he then bellowed, "I have been a city official for the past fifteen years, and yet I've encountered so few instances of Zootopians asking for that type of permission that I could count them on the fingers of my paws."

Saying that, he lifted both of his strange, five-digit limbs, making Nick feel a bit odd again.

"Each time, the reasons people put before me have been very… _interesting_ ," continued the reptile. "I am wondering what the ones you have are, Mr. Gekker."

Nick then prepared to do his magic.

"Well, I'm a business mediator for a major electronics company," he began. "We're working on a new technology which will allow animals to communicate using scent. You know, like a regular phone, only that you'll not only be able to see and hear the person you're talking to, but also _smell_ them! The research is being done at the science institutes in Zootopia, but we're hoping to start manufacturing the devices to introduce them on the market by the end of next year. To do that, we want to build a few factories in Scaledonia. You know, create some new jobs for your fellow citizens."

The offer was meant to sound attractive, although after the undercover cop finished presenting it, the ambassador just continued to stare at him motionlessly, the look of his green eyes making him wonder what was really going on in this strange creature's head.

Finally, LaCoste nodded.

"I understand. May I see your credentials, as well as the details of this venture?"

"Of course."

Opening his briefcase, Nick then presented the reptile with a whole pile of counterfeit documents he had himself forged just a few hours prior. They were deliberately filled with technical jargon, which would have been utterly incomprehensible to anyone.

LaCoste took a brief look at the papers, but did not even pretend to read them.

"I see," he mumbled finally, making Nick wonder if his passionless speech signified reluctance, or compliance. He then continued. "Mr. Gekker, but why Scaledonia? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to keep Zootopian industry local, and prevent the efflux of jobs outside of the city?"

A good question. But the apt smooth-talker had a ready answer.

" _Heh-heh,_ technically, yes. But I'm sure you also know about the differences in both places' economic development. In Scaledonia, the work force is simply cheaper."

Allastor raised a brow…

"Are you suggesting that a reptile deserves less pay for the same amount of work than a mammal does over here, Mr. Gekker?"

His voice seemed colder than usual, somehow. But that was definitely not what Nick had in mind.

" _Err,_ not at all, sir!" he uttered awkwardly. "All I'm saying is that…"

He didn't finish. Exhaling deeply, the ambassador suddenly arose from his chair, and walked over to a big map of the city which hung on the wall.

"Tell me. Do you know how many inhabitants does Zootopia have?"

Startled by this unusual question, Nick responded:

"I'm not sure. Around… forty-five million?"

"Counting the city proper, plus the outskirts," Allastor corrected him, "Zootopia has about forty-nine million six-hundred thousand inhabitants. Now, do you know how many reptiles live here?"

" _Uhh…_ no idea," the fox stammered, unable to comprehend where this was all going.

LaCoste turned around, looking him in the eyes.

"Eleven thousand five-hundred and twelve," he stated the exact number. "That is roughly 0.023% of the entire population. And I'm counting all the reptiles who are staying in Zootopia legally in general, not those who possess Zootopian citizenship. That number is, of course, much smaller. Are you by chance familiar with the reason for such a state of things?"

The fox knew that perfectly. The reptiles from Scaledonia had never agreed to the requirements of the Zootopia Constitution, and rumor had it that its inhabitants were still far more savage than the members of highly developed mammal society. That was the reason why Zootopians hardly ever travelled to Scaledonia… and also why there were so few reptiles living in the city. If an animal from either side wanted to as much as obtain a visa, he had to adapt.

Responding to the ambassador's question, trying to be as inoffensive as possible, Nick said:

"Sir, you must be aware of the risks an entrepreneur has to face when deciding to do business in your homeland."

That statement made the reptile react in a way that the fox estimated could signify amusement, though no smile appeared on his lipless, scaly face.

" _Risks?_ What kind of risks do you have in mind, Mr. Gekker?"

He took a step toward the undercover officer, which made him stiffen.

"I-I mean, economically speaking. Investing in an external project is always kind of dangerous…"

"Ah, but doing business is not the only dangerous thing about Scaledonia, is it?" Allastor asked, taking another step. Nick chuckled awkwardly, feeling a bit hot under the collar.

" _Heh,_ well, there are rumors…" he then cleared his throat again, deciding to put all his eggs in one basket. "You know, about your species' _appetites_."

" _My_ species?" the ambassador asked curiously.

"Yeah. Crocodiles."

"I am an alligator!"

"Uh… sorry about that. _Alligators_ … well, reptiles, in general."

"What about us?"

"Well, it is said that… you still practice _carnivorism_."

The cat was out of the bag now. LaCoste stood in front of Nick, gazing down at him with a blank expression which the fox could only guess meant that he was just fooling around with him all the time. The alligator released air from his nostrils, which could have been a snort.

"Ah, is that so? Well, I must admit, my compatriots don't exactly go around wearing suits every day, like we do, according to Zootopian customs."

He then put his paws on Nick's shoulders for some reason, which made the mammal shudder.

"But what about you?" he whispered, deliberately lowering his voice. "Maybe you too don't actually enjoy wearing a tie, Mr. Gekker? _Hm_? Maybe it's the more _wild_ facet of my country that attracts you, not the possible business opportunities? Perhaps you are… a _connoisseur of unusual foods_ yourself, and you're just looking for a place where people are more tolerant and open to animals with that kind of _taste_?"

Nick had no idea whether this really was a joke, or not. But he decided to play along just a bit longer.

"Well, if I did, would I really have to leave Zootopia at all?" he inquired smugly, struggling not to lose his confidence. "Speaking about rumors, I heard that even the reptiles who _do_ live here aren't all exactly in sync with the official requirements of our Constitution."

That was a risky statement. But if Nick wanted to find out the truth, he needed to probe the ambassador as much as possible.

After hearing what he said, the alligator hesitated for a while. Without a word, he took his paws off the mammal's shoulders, and returned to his chair, swinging his massive tail around. He then folded the papers Nick had presented to him, and gave them back to him.

"Let's return to serious topics, shall we?" the reptile proposed, suspiciously changing the subject.

" _Uhm,_ okay," responded the cop, narrowing his eyes. "What about my visa, then?"

LaCoste eyed him for an extended amount of time, which was starting to get on the fox's nerves. He then bellowed:

"I'll be frank with you, Mr. Gekker. At this point, I am strongly disinclined to the idea of granting you one."

"Why not?!" Nick inquired with a slight note of disappointment and anger in his voice.

A spark appeared in the reptile's green eyes which could also be one of grudge.

"You clearly speak from a position of superiority, don't you?" he began sarcastically. "After all, what benefactors are you, you and your company, to offer us an opportunity to work for you? To rally up the _primitive scaly savages_ and whip them up into a decent work force, taming their brutal instincts with your Zootopian dollars… Sounds insulting, don't you agree? But what is even more insulting is the fact that you have the gall to mention such rumors even about the members of my kind who have done their best and gone through much strain in order to adapt to your way of life in Zootopian society. Here, we are reduced to an insignificant minority, shunned and made to dwell in the poorest precincts of the Marshlands and the Canal District in order not to taint the appearance of your beautiful city… We are persecuted and spat upon daily, and now you accuse us of being carnivores. If I've ever heard anything that is the very definition of speciesism, it's what you've said to me today, Mr. Gekker."

Completely stunned by the alligator's rant, Nick just sat there with his jaw almost down to the floor… He had no idea that his obvious jesting would have such a negative effect. It took him some time before he was able to mumble any sort of response.

"M-mister ambassador… you must know that I wasn't being serious!" he attempted to laugh it all off, though his smile was rather insincere, and his voice shaky. "I'm no speciesist! I-I don't really think that reptiles are carnivores! I was just joking, honest!"

Again, Allastor LaCoste put his elbows on the desk, his fingers forming a pyramid.

"Your joke was not particularly funny, Mr. Gekker," he responded passionlessly, as always. "I have serious doubts if you'd at all be able to perform any successful ventures in Scaledonia. Therefore, I'm afraid that your visa petition, for your own good, has been rejected. I wish you a nice day."

* * *

 **AN: Well, Nick and Judy are back together, so hooray for that.**

 **But as for the reptiles, it seems that Zootopia is kind of falling victim to its own political correctness. The chapter is a tribute to the original script, in which Nick goes around from bank to bank, trying to get a loan in order to open his 'Wild Times' amusemant park, and gets rejected each time.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Otterdam was a section of Zootopia between Downtown and Savannah Central. The district was riddled with a number of crisscrossing canals, and the humidity plus the cold weather made the foggy streets of this unappealing precinct seem even more depressing.

Judy was standing in front of a quite shabby apartment building for underpaid blue-collar workers. She was waiting for Nick, who'd texted her that he got stuck in traffic, and becoming more and more impatient with each passing minute.

She thought that working undercover again would be a nice change, but her disguise, which consisted of a berry-blue skirt suit, was unfortunately not exactly comfortable, as the vest she had underneath was bothering her. She also couldn't see anything in the glasses she wore to conceal her identity.

Tapping the frost-covered ground with her foot, she kept looking at her watch, and the clouds of steam she was blowing through her mouth, alternately. After enough time, she noticed that the animals walking in and out of the building were gazing at her curiously, probably wondering why she was just standing there like that.

Deciding to do something that would justify her presence out in the cold, she opened the purse she was holding, where she also had her gun, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She normally never smoked, but she was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of the act.

First, the rabbit had trouble igniting the lighter. Then, when she finally managed to light a cigarette, and inhaled the smoke into her lungs…

… she started coughing so badly that she accidentally dropped the smoke, which rolled on the sidewalk and vanished in a rain sewer. Tears filling her eyes, she gasped for air as a pair of startled by-walkers glared at her as if she were a crazy person.

"It's just flu," she muttered to them, smiling awkwardly, issuing a few more fake coughs.

When the animals were gone, seriously annoyed, she decided not to wait for Nick anymore, and enter the building without him.

The files on the ZPD mainframe informed her that this place was the hideout of Lawrence Vulpine, the one former member of _Butcher's Den_ who repented and denounced basically all of the other carnivores. He was now supposed to be living in Zootopia under an alias, away from his former life, but he had not been answering his phone for weeks. Now, it was time for lieutenant Hopps to do a little investigating on her own.

Standing in front of the door to the apartment which was supposed to be Lawrence's, she knocked delicately. No one answered. Afterwards, looking around to make sure that there was nobody watching, she pulled on the doorknob. The door was locked.

Taking another look up and down the corridor, she then reached to her purse, taking out her carrot recorder-pen. Little did anyone know that the little metal pin attached to it also served as a pretty good lock pick.

It took her a minute to actually be able to open the door, but eventually, Lawrence's apartment was all hers for the ransacking. Stepping inside stealthily, she closed the door behind her back, and took off her glasses.

Taking her time, the rabbit cop scoured through basically every inch of the small fox burrow. She did find red hair on the carpet and in the bathroom, but apart from that, there was no trace of the predator. He left no notes or addresses, only moldy food in the fridge, which meant that he must have vanished suddenly.

With a heavy heart, Judy realized that she now had to add Lawrence Vulpine's name to the long list of missing animals… and that he, just like all of them, was by now most likely dead. Especially that the carnivores viewed him as a traitor.

Groaning in the bitter disappointment of another failure, she quickly left the apartment, not even bothering to relock the door. As she was walking down the stairs, she received a message from Nick, who finally showed up, and was waiting for her outside.

 _It's about time…_ she thought to herself angrily.

The fox's Wolfswagen was parked right in front of the building. Judy immediately ran to the door, wishing to get out of the cold as soon as possible.

"Hey Carrots, nice skirt!" Nick greeted her, himself still wearing his suit. He was surprised to see her grim expression, as well as the fact that she simply sat down on the passenger seat, slamming the door. "What, you done in there already?"

"Yeah, I am," the rabbit grumbled, not even bothering to look his way. "I didn't find a single thing. And what about you?"

Her partner also frowned.

"Same here… When I mentioned carnivorism, LaCoste politely kicked me out of the embassy, calling me a speciesits."

"Well, what did you say to him, then?" the other lieutenant inquired.

" _Nothing!_ He basically started the whole conversation, and I though he was just joking, so I went along with it! I never thought that reptiles were this sensitive," Nick began explaining, looking completely innocent.

In response, Judy sighed in exasperation, covering her face with a paw…

"Just drive us back to the station, okay?" she suggested.

They sat in silence for a while, mad with themselves, each other, and the whole world. It seemed that they were back in square one all over again.

Finally, Nick couldn't take this anymore, and began looking for something in his clothes.

"Ah, damn! I left my smokes in my other pants… I don't suppose you have a pack, do you? Nah, you don't smoke…"

He then turned the engine off, and said:

"There's a convenience store on the corner. Be right back."

Of course, Judy didn't reveal to him that she indeed had an almost full pack of cigarettes in her purse. She didn't need them anymore, but she wanted to keep up an appearance.

The rabbit would soon regret that, however.

As soon as Nick was gone, and Judy let her mind become preoccupied with thinking what in the world could they do now, she was startled by someone knocking on her window. Looking at the animal suspiciously, she estimated that the young haggard black cat, dressed in a thick coat, must have been a homeless person.

The feline smiled, making a gesture which indicated that he wanted her to roll down her window. Feeling sorry for the fellow animal down on his luck, left out in the cold, Judy decided to give him some spare change. She obeyed his request, said hello, and reached for her purse.

The words she heard then, however, made her freeze.

"Blood for blood, Judith Hopps. This is for the Butcher," the cat whispered dryly.

The fur on the rabbit's neck bristled… Turning her head rapidly, she found herself gazing down the barrel of a pistol silencer which the feline had stuck through the open window of the car.

She was wearing a ballistic vest, as always… but the cat was aiming straight at her head.

Judy's life flashed before her eyes. And she was very sure that this flashback was way too short.

She wasn't even able to utter a single yelp of terror before she felt droplets of fresh blood staining the fur on her face. Her eyes went wide, and the image before her blurred. Her paws shook, and her heart almost exploded. She felt a cold that made her shiver.

After a time that may have been either a second or a minute, she blinked, groaning in utter confusion. What was surprising was that she did not feel any pain. Wiping the blood from her face, she looked at her paw…

… and realized that the blood wasn't hers.

A muted scream issued from her mouth. Shuddering all over, the petrified rabbit glared to where her assassin had just been standing, and saw that he was gone. She then kicked open the car door on her side… and realized the truth.

Judy shrieked real loud this time, seeing the black cat's corpse, lying in a red pool. Part of the feline's face was completely missing.

In a frantic shock, the female officer still checked his vital signs. But the cat was the definition of dead. Somebody had blown his brains out before he was even able to pull the trigger.

* * *

It would be an understatement to say that Nick was surprised when, returning from the convenience store, he saw his partner curled up in a ball, sitting on the sidewalk by the bloody carcass of a headless cat.

His cigarette falling from his lips, he ran up to the rabbit, yelling her name in horror.

"JUDY!" he cried, grabbing her by the shoulders, gazing in her absent eyes. " _Judy_ , answer me! What the hell happened here?! Are you hurt?"

After examining her as well as he could, making sure she was uninjured, he then shook her forcefully.

" _What happened_?! Did you… did you just kill this guy?!"

Snapping out of her shock at least a little, the female yelped:

"N-no… _H-he_ was t-trying to sh-shoot mmme…"

It was then that Nick noticed the gun which lay by the body.

"Well who shot him, then?" he asked, totally confused.

"I don't know…" Judy responded, grabbing his paw as he helped her to stand up. "I thought it was you!"

"No, it wasn't me, either…" the fox said to her, knitting his brow.

He then examined the body, trying to estimate the direction of the shot by where the entry wound was.

To his great shock, as soon as he looked that way, in spite of the fog, he was able to notice the figure of an animal who stood on top of the roof of a nearby building. And it also seemed that the stranger also saw him…

Nick and Judy then heard a distant, extended howl, which undoubtedly came from a wolf.

The fox cop estimated that the time to act was now.

"Stay here, call for back up," he ordered his partner, giving her phone to her. "Do you understand, Carrots?"

Still numb from the fact that she'd almost been assassinated, the rabbit nodded, however.

"Good," Nick said, and started running.

Entering the building on top of which the sniper must have been standing, he began climbing the stairs as fast as he could, pulling his pistol out of the holster. His heart was beating like a drum. He knew that time was short.

When he finally got to the roof access door, he cocked his gun before opening it… and then barged onto the top of the building, screaming:

 _"ZPD! Paws in the air!"_

The animal that stood before him did not listen, however. Instead, she just started laughing, as if seeing her old acquaintance caused her joy.

Before him stood Mathilda Blacktail, the reformed assassin who had once worked for Mr. Big, as well as a former carnivore. The very mammal who had shown him and Judy the way to _Butcher's Den_. The she-wolf was wearing a long black trench coat, her mangled tail sticking out from underneath, all wrapped in bandages. A silenced sniper rifle was lying on the ground right by her side.

Totally startled, Nick gazed at the chortling predator for a while, still pointing his pistol at her… and then he noticed that miss Blacktail had tears in her eyes.

She seemed to be, if it were even possible, both laughing and crying at the same time. It only took a moment for the fox to realize that she wasn't exactly sound of mind.

"Mathilda…?" he mumbled hesitantly, putting his gun away.

When he took a step toward her, the she-wolf, sounding completely devastated, slipped down to the surface of the roof, and hung her head.

"I… I did it… I saved your partner, didn't I?" she stuttered, tears streaming from her eyes. " _Heh-heh_ … I broke my promise again, you know. I swore that I'd never kill anyone… but… I did save a life, too, right? Again, I pulled the trigger before the other animal did…"

Her unstable confession made a shiver run down the fox's spine…

"Yeah, you sure did…" Nick assured her. "But why do you mean by… _again_? Are you trying to tell me that… this is _not_ the first assassination attempt against Judy?"

Sobbing, Mathilda held up two fingers of her paw.

"The _second_?" the male spoke the words she herself was unable to utter. "A-an you iced the other assassin, as well?"

"Yes…" the lupine confessed, grinding her fangs. Then, her body shook with an attack of laughter. "Two for her… and _three_ for you! _Hahaha_ …"

Nick's jaw dropped. If Mathilda was saying the truth, that meant that, if it weren't for her, both Judy and him would have been dead… more than once.

"You can't be serious," the fox whimpered in disbelief.

"I _am_ , Nicky!" the sniper laughed insanely. "Your rabbit friend is much more careful than you. She mostly stays indoors. That damn cat only got to her when you left her and went to the store… But as for _you_ … I had to save your rump in Tundratown, and _twice_ in Las Perras! You've got _many_ enemies in this city, _lieutenant_ , and neither dying your fur nor wearing disguise can change that!"

Still, the cop found all of that difficult to believe. Or, at least, he was just denying what was indeed a terrifying truth.

"S-so you've been watching us _all this time_? Why didn't you contact us earlier?" he asked her.

The she-wolf howled out laughing yet again, wiped her nose, and began fondling her sniper rifle.

" _Heh-heh,_ what, do you think I can just walk into your police station with _this_ , and not be arrested? I value my privacy, you know, as well as my freedom."

"Why didn't you run away, then?" Nick pierced her with a stare, demanding explanation.

The lupine bared her fangs.

"Well, aren't _you_ the ones who are looking for ex-members of _Butcher's Den_?"

After such an enigmatic response, the two animals continued to gaze into one another's eyes. Finally, Nick sighed, deciding that, just as last time, if there was anyone who could help them in their fight against the carnivores, it was this deranged old she-wolf with only half a tail.

"Okay Mathilda," he said to her. "Tell me what you know."

The female snorted.

"But you already know everything you need! You always have! I'm surprised you and your partner are so slow. You run around, chasing your tails, while people around are dying… C'mon, are you cops, or not?! You're a team, for God's sake! Don't you know that two heads are better than one? You shoulda sat your butts down and brainstormed a solution by now! Working individually, both you and Hopps weren't able to achieve _anything_!"

She was clearly mocking him, and he would have punished her for that if it weren't for the fact that she saved his and Judy's life on several different occasions.

"Is it the reptiles who're responsible for all the disappearances?!" he asked instead, grinding his teeth.

"Not for _all_ of them," Mathilda pulled her nose. "That dead cat down there on the sidewalk… he's not a reptile. But yes, ultimately, it's the scalies who are at the bottom of all of your trouble…"

"Which ones? Where can I find them?!" he growled again, interrupting her.

A strange smirk appeared on the she-wolf's face.

" _Hmf!_ " she snorted again. "You won't find 'em walkin' the streets of Zootopia, that's for sure. Haven't you heard what I just said? The reptiles are _at the bottom_ of everything."

Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle began coming together in Nick's head. The rumors that circulated around the city, what Fr. O'Rinse had told him, and now Mathilda…

"The _sewers_!" gasped the fox, mad with himself for having ignored the obvious.

The female in front of him smiled, and stood up.

"Bingo, lieutenant. You better run down and start burrowing. I'm guessing this damn city has a lot of dark tunnels you need to take a closer look at. But be careful- it's easy to lose a tail... or even other body parts... if you look too deep. Trust me. _I know_..."

She then picked her gun up and began putting it back in its case.

"Well, what're ya starin' at?!" Mathilda turned around to look at the perplexed fox again, seeing that he took no action. "Can't you hear those police sirens? That's a signal calling for you, you fool! Get outa here, leave me alone!"

The emotionally unstable she-wolf started growling, making Nick wonder if he should arrest her…

But, eventually, he turned around, and leaving her on top of the roof, began running down the stairs to join the other officers, who had by this time gathered around Judy and her would-be assassin's corpse.

The real hunt was about to begin.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Judy and Nick stood in front of a table at the ZPD coroner's mortuary, over a naked body of a dead black cat. They were able to estimate that the wannabe killer's name was Felix Purrkins, he was 23 years old, and was a chemistry student at a small Zootopia college. He had been a member of a predator pride group, although no direct connection between him and any known carnivores was found…

… apart from the traces of meat in his stomach, discovered by the autopsy.

„You shouldn't have let her go," Judy addressed her partner after a long moment of silence. "Mathilda Blacktail might still have information that could prove inviolable to the case."

Nick sighed. He was happy that the rabbit had shaken off the shock of nearly being shot dead, but her professional rebukes were something he did not appreciate.

"Carrots… We've been through this already, she told me everything we needed to know. And besides, she _saved our lives_! How could I put a collar around her neck after that?!"

Lieutenant Hopps hesitated, looking at the carcass in front of her. She knew that, if it weren't for Mathilda, it would have been her lying there, instead. This realization continued to send shivers down her neck.

"I still think we don't know enough about those reptiles," she expressed her thoughts, though with less conviction than before.

Judy then felt her partner touching her arm, and turned toward him.

"Trust me, Carrots," Nick continued to press on. "We need to pull every officer off the streets, and send them down to the sewers before it's too late. That's the only way we can end this crisis once and for all."

"Nick, it's two weeks before Christmas!" the rabbit voiced her concerns over her partner's plan. "If we make the others spend this time crawling through the city's underground, _they're_ the ones who are going to riot! I don't even think they'll believe us, anyway. Crocodiles in Zootopia's sewers have always been considered an urban legend, a scary story mammals told to one another sitting around campfires at night… And, to be honest, I find it difficult to believe, myself."

The fox became internally irate because of the lack of trust on her behalf. But he didn't let it show.

"Fine," he addressed her instead. "You don't have to as much as touch the whole thing with a single finger. We're still on the same level in terms of rank, despite everything. If you don't want to, _I'll_ speak to the guys. I bet everything I own that they'll be fishin' out crocs from the bowels of Z-town before the end of the week."

Judy felt a slight prick of jealousy, not able to shake the feeling that the fox was trying to challenge her. But ultimately, if she let him do that, she estimated that the only one who could get hurt in case the whole endeavor failed, was him.

"Alright then," she said to him, faking a smile. "Go ahead and lead the squads down there yourself. _This better work_ , though."

The male lieutenant had a hunch that the last sentence was spoken in the form of a threat… but he had enough self-confidence in him he didn't care.

"No sweat, Carrots," he answered, smirking. "Let slick Nick do his shtick. You just take your time, grab some veggie-flavored popcorn, and observe."

Her response to that cocky statement was a narrowed stare. Then she uttered:

"Oh, I will. Now let's get out of here. You've got a lot of work to do, wise-guy."

* * *

Judy was surprised to see how eagerly her partner got to his task of whipping up all of the ZPD to conduct a vast search through the tunnels under Zootopia. First, he organized a meeting with all of the chiefs of the particular stations around the city, announcing to them what his plan was. When they too voiced their concerns, especially that it was only a mere lieutenant who spoke to them, Nick backed his own word with chief Bogo's authority (which was only an indirectly legitimate move as, although the buffalo had indeed given both him and Judy full faculties, he heard nothing of Nick's project). Only then did the law enforcers yield, albeit with great reluctance.

Soon, all of the officers who had until recently been patrolling the streets of the city, were forced by their superiors to uncover the sewer drains and go underneath, looking with flashlights in their paws for the legendary reptiles which were supposed to lurk in Zootopia's wet, stinky underbelly. Of course, most considered that idea to be ridiculous, but they had to obey their orders.

Nick led the search in the downtown area personally, spending most of the week underground along with his fellow officers, while Judy took care of the affair at the station. They hadn't seen each other once during that time.

But what was even worse, in spite of all of the ZPD's efforts, no reptiles were found in either of the districts of the city. Not even a single scale… The fox lieutenant wasn't planning to let go, however, even if the other cops' morale was dwindling with each passing day.

It wasn't long before officers from several stations began to strike.

One morning, the fox received a call from Judy, who demanded to see him in her office. Hearing that the matter was urgent, Nick had to leave the sewers and return to the station.

He stood before Judy's desk looking tired and disappointed, his uniform wrinkled and dirty. As soon as he saw the expression on her face, he knew that he was in trouble... Her eyes had the same electrifying spark in them as when he first came to her to apologize for his drunken outburst.

"I screwed up big time, didn't I…?" he asked, scratching the back of his head with a frown of humiliation.

"Yes, you are correct," she said to him coldly. "I wish your speculations about carnivorous reptiles running amok in the city's sewers were just as accurate. I'm cancelling this whole exploration of yours. It's just a waste of time."

"What?!" the male gasped, appalled.

He was unable to believe what he was hearing. True, he did expect that the rabbit lieutenant would somehow punish him for the lack of results of his search, since he had promised to end the carnivore crisis personally, and soon. But he did not expect that she'd abort the mission completely. And, frankly, he had doubts if she possessed the real authority to do that.

Seeing her partner's reaction, Judy arose from her chair, banging the surface of the desk with her clenched fists.

"Nick, you've been down there with _all_ of Zootopia's police for _over a week_ now! And you haven't found _anything_!"

That was true, the fox couldn't deny it.

"Judy, if you would please just give us more time…" he mumbled pleadingly.

"NO!" the rabbit interrupted him, yelling so violently that it caused the predator's ears to drop. "I've put up with your incompetence long enough! Your plan was irresponsible and irrational from the very beginning. You've pulled law enforcement from the streets, and left the people without _any_ protection! Two nights ago, prey supremacists battered some innocent dog _to death_ in the Canyonlands. And last night, as a form of revenge, predators burned down a no-pred bar on the outskirts of Gnu York. _Did you even realize that_?!"

He didn't. Being busy with venturing through the tunnels, he had no knowledge of what was happening on the surface in the meantime.

Speechless, shocked by the consequences of his own negligence, Nick simply hung his head, sighing sorrowfully.

Judy then pulled out some sort of a document, putting it on the desk before his eyes.

"What's this?" he mumbled, not even able to find enough conviction to examine the paper.

Lieutenant Hopps answered him with a voice as grim as his mood.

"This is your degradation," she announced. "You've forced me to report your incompetence to chief Bogo. He's out of the hospital, but will be going through rehab for the next few weeks. His decision was to take you off the case… _officer_ Wilde."

His eyes wide open, Nick snatched the document from the desk… and saw that what Judy had just said was actually true. The act which took his rank of lieutenant away was signed by Bogo himself.

Once he finished reading, a pain in his heart making him feel sorry for acting so rashly, he saw the rabbit, who was now his superior, stretching out her paw toward him.

"I'm going to have to take your badge," she said. And Nick knew that this request was actually an order.

Removing the shiny piece of metal from his chest, he slowly passed it to Judy.

"I guess I deserve this, don't I…?" his voice was filled with remorse.

"Yes. At least you're conscious of that," the rabbit said to him, also looking pretty bummed.

"When'll I get a new one?" the fox then inquired, wishing that he could at least get back to hunting predators as soon as possible, even as a mere officer.

Judy put his badge in the drawer of her desk, and said:

"I don't know… I'm suspending you."

If her former announcement was shocking, this one literally made the fox scream in utter outrage.

"Now that's something I _don't_ deserve! You _can't do this,_ Carrots! You just said you need all the force you can find!" he burst out, very close to losing his temper.

"You're wrong, Nick," Judy was also trying hard not to let her growing anger get the best of her. "As a lieutenant, I do possess the authority to suspend you. And that's what I'm doing. I think you've done enough harm for now."

"But… we're partners!" he yelped in a final attempt to change her mind.

"Not anymore," the rabbit was unrelenting.

Clenching his fist in fury, he was only able to utter:

"You're worse than Bogo! And to think that I once stopped him from taking _your_ badge… I seriously doubt you can do anything more than I already have, _lieutenant_!"

Completely exasperated with this uncomfortable conversation, feeling a migraine approaching, Judy hopped off her chair and went over to face her furious underling. Struggling to stay calm, she said:

"Cool down, Nick. Go home, get some rest, spend the Holidays with your mother. I'll call you sometime after Christamas, okay?"

Hearing her proposition, instead of his frown of rage, the fox suddenly adopted a more sarcastic demeanor.

" _Puh!_ Oh I get it," he snorted. "You're just sending me away so _you_ can have the glory of being the best carnie hunter to yourself, right?"

" _No!_ " growled the now seriously triggered lieutenant. "Uh, Nick why do you have to be so…"

"What, _honest_?" he interrupted her mockingly. "You always were ambitious, Carrots. But oh, just think about what would happen if _you_ found where all those killer scalies are _really_ hiding! Zootopians would make you mayor! Hell, your own rabbit kin would probably build you a monument right in the middle of Bunnyburrow! The Silver Clover would _beg_ you to join them then…"

That was far enough. For the past months, Judy had to cope with the growing frustration of way too many things: the ZPD's failed carnivore hunt, the Horne County Sheriff's assassination, being dumped by her boyfriend, almost getting shot in the head in Otterdam, and Nick's constant vagary. Now, the drop has filled the cup to the brim. Her frustration found its target in Nick, who had failed her, and the ZPD, one too many times. She was determined to put this whole damned case to a close, and she would not let the fox stand in her way. She'd wanted to do this peacefully… but he just wouldn't let her.

" _OOOUT!_ " she yelled, unable to stand this anymore, pointing toward the door.

Nick simply shrugged, turned his tail at her and left, slamming the door behind his back. Walking down the corridor, he almost crashed into Clawhauser.

"Get outa my way, _fatass_!" he snapped at the startled cheetah, who stood petrified.

Clawhauser then frowned, biting his lip, and said to himself:

"On second thought, I think I better wait a while before going to lieutenant Hopps' office…"

* * *

 **AN: Oh Nick and Judy... Which one of them is right in this argument? Or are they both actually wrong?  
**

 **They ought to remember this, though- _if you bite and devour one another, take heed you be not consumed by one another._ **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

As soon as the suspended officer Wilde exited her office, and she was able to calm her nerves a bit, Judy grabbed her phone and dialed the City Hall's number, requesting to speak to the mayor. And, to her surprise, Lionheart actually answered the call.

He'd heard about the lieutenant's assassination attempt, but though she informed him that she was fine, the lion was only confirmed in his conviction that he himself should remain in hiding.

The mayor's cowardly attitude made the rabbit even more angry. But she didn't call him to argue. Instead, she informed Lionheart of the city's situation after Nick's failed attempts to scour the tunnels, and revealed to him her own plan of catching the carnivores.

Although she didn't believe in the whole sewer thing, especially after a fruitless week-long search which involved all of the city's police force, it was obvious that the reptiles took at least some part in the disappearances. That had been proven by both the flyer that was found near sheriff Batter's corpse, as well as by the presence of crocodiles in _Butcher's Den_. The rabbit wanted to approach the problem differently than her partner, however. Namely, she wanted to take some of the eleven thousand reptiles living around Zootopia in for rigorous questioning. But to be able to do that, she needed the mayor's explicit permission.

Lionheart was very skeptical at first, demanding that she should primarily have the ZPD secure safety in the streets again. Happy to see that he actually still cared for the city's wellbeing, Judy assured him that she would indeed make that her priority. And when she also promised to send a couple extra cops for the mayor's private protection, the lion finally yielded. Basically, he gave her leave to deal with the reptile minority as she saw fit, only warning her to do her best not to let their ambassador find out, or else Allastor LaCoste would undoubtedly post his complaints to the city council. The lieutenant agreed, and they said their goodbyes.

Happy with the result of the conversation, though not wanting to lose any time, Judy then immediately started calling up the chiefs of the police stations in each section of Zootopia, delivering to them their new orders, which they readily accepted. Then, she logged into the ZPD database, looking for all the information about reptiles she could possibly find there, deciding that her interrogations should begin with those scalies who already had any kind of criminal record.

* * *

Deprived of his badge and his job, humiliated and angry, Nick drove straight to his apartment. He got drunk that night, for the first time in days, but when he got up the next morning, in spite of his massive headache, he called Clawhauser at the station.

First, he apologized to the cheetah for calling him a _fatass_ , to what the officer responded by saying that he understood, as he had already heard about what happened in Judy's office. It looked like the feline felt terribly sorry for his friend's degradation, especially that he knew that Nick had done his best in order to investigate a thread he really believed would lead him to the core of the carnivore crisis.

He then revealed to the fox that lieutenant Hopps had pulled all of Zootopia's cops from the sewers.

Thanking Clawhauser for his help, Nick quickly hung up, not wanting to accidentally start yelling at the cheetah again in his anger. He couldn't believe that Judy was doing the exact opposite of what his own plan had been… For some reason, he felt that this was wrong. Even though they hadn't found anything during a week below ground, he somehow knew that the answer was still somewhere down there.

He spent the whole day sitting around, grumbling in frustration. His forced inaction was driving him crazy, and it wasn't just a feeling of his pride being hurt. Animals continued to vanish, the people of his city were still terrified… and he, though suspended, was still a ZPD officer. It was his duty to do something- he may have been a bad cop, but at least this much he'd learned since he left the Academy.

When evening came, he couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing the schematics of Zootopia's underground he'd used during his search, he took pictures of them with his phone. He then dressed in street clothes, put on his contact lenses, fastened his gun holster, and went out into the streets.

He figured that, perhaps, when there was a whole army of cops in uniform searching through the tunnels, the reptiles that hid there had been able to notice them early enough to hide. At least, he hoped that was the reason why they couldn't find anything. So, maybe, if he looked by himself, his private search would bring more results?

That was his wish when he uncovered one of the sewer holes in the Downtown area of the city. What he was doing was technically illegal, and went against the police code… but he'd already learned to do illegal things for a good cause a long time ago.

Walking though the damp, cold tunnels, wielding a flashlight in his paw, was nothing new to him. Only this time, he was doing this alone, and undercover. Checking his map in order not to lose orientation, he first made his way through one Z-town's main aqueducts, which were connected to a whole network of smaller tunnels. He had visited these places numerous times throughout the past week, and just as then, he found nothing, the only sound that could be heard there being that of the flowing water.

It was only when he entered one of the tighter arteries that he heard some strange whispers in the distance. After a few more careful steps, he also noticed light behind the corner in front of him. Turning off his flashlight, he began moving forward stealthily.

Soon, he was able to make out the words of a conversation.

"… so I says to 'er- _ey, don't be givin' me any o' that crap, female! I ain't in the mood!_ " exclaimed a high-pitched voice.

"Uh huh," answered someone.

"An' what she do then?" a third animal inquired.

"Well, _then_ ," continued the first voice, "she grabs a match, swings it like this, an' screams from the top o' her lungs- _I'm gon' kill ya, Randy! I swear, I'm a bash yer face in!_ "

The three creatures instantaneously burst out laughing, and Nick thought that this was the right moment to reveal himself.

Walking out from around the corner of the tunnel, he saw what actually turned out to be a trio of sewer rats, standing around a blazing can of pop with its top cut off, warming themselves. When they too noticed the predator approaching, two of them silenced and took a step back. The most talkative one, who seemed to be named Randy, a black rodent with a scar on his face who stank of booze and sweat, narrowed his eyes, gazing up at the fox suspiciously. Then he said:

"Ey you! _Chomper!_ The hell you lookin' for down 'ere?"

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get any info from the rats unless he bribed them, Nick addressed them with a delicate smile on his face:

"Chillax, fellows! I'm a friend."

He then pulled out a pack of Mareboro Strongs from the inside pocket of his coat.

"May I?" he asked, pointing at their tiny brazier.

"Only as long as you share," Randy demanded staunchly.

Agreeing, Nick crouched, and lit two cigarettes- one for himself, and one for the three rodents. He then put the first one in his mouth, and the other on the edge of a curb, allowing the small mammals to take turns smoking it.

"So whaddya want, fox?" the rats' leader inquired after blowing a cloud of smoke through his mouth, still a bit distrustful. "You one of them cops who'd been crawlin' through these tunnels lately?"

"Yeah, I am," Nick admitted. "I'm working undercover."

"Oh, I know what you're lookin' for!" a smaller rodent with a white patch of fur around his nose said with a smirk. "You lookin' for them herps! I've seen your pals before, makin' a big fuss in the dark the other night, complainin' 'bout the stink!"

"Well, what about those _herps_ , then?" the fox quickly decided to drill deeper. "You seen any of them? Or, at least, any _trace_ of reptiles in these sewers, for that matter?"

Laughing out loud, the three rats gazed at Nick with amusement.

" _Huh-huh,_ not 'round here, we ain't!" explained Randy. "If herps livin' down 'ere ain't just a bogus fairytale, you can be sure 'bout one thing- where _they_ are, we _won't_ be!"

The others confirming what their boss said, the rats bid Nick farewell, wishing him luck in his search. He left them a bit disappointed, but not discouraged.

He then decided that looking through the main tunnels, which were positioned under Zootopia's major streets, would take forever, and was pointless. Turning into some random dark hole, taking his chances, he began walking deeper and deeper through a corridor leading downward. The foul stench intensified, and his phone was no longer good for anything else than checking the map from time to time.

Those narrow passages connected the sewers with the underground metro lines. Nick was familiar with them from the time of his outlaw years, as they were sometimes used for smuggling purposes. But as he went down them, he was hardly able to see anything in the dim light of his torch, and the utter silence started to become unsettling.

He finally found himself in some really old sewer, which had a river of filthy water flowing through it. He wasn't able to find this uncharted location anywhere on his map, but he was pretty sure that he must have by now been somewhere underneath the Rainforest District. He was almost sure that he'd not been here before, although some other team of ZPD cops might have already ventured through this area.

Standing on the edge of the dirty stream, gazing at the current, the fox sighed. He'd been underground for hours at this point, and dreaded the thought that he might still have to come down here day by day, for who knows how long, in order to find anything at all…

Feeling seriously bummed, trying hard to ignore the fouls reek of stagnant filth which permeated the air, he continued walking down the tunnel. The disheartening thing about this particular sewer was also the fact that it seemed to go on forever.

About an hour later, having completely lost track of where he was, Nick looked at his map again, trying to remember which of the underground corridors would lead him north. The bluish light of the device reflected from the moisture on the walls, and the surface of the murky water.

And then, in the corner of his eye, the fox noticed something that caught his attention. It seemed to be something akin to a strange glow on the surface of the water. Curious, Nick turned his phone off, and pointed his flashlight toward the spot where he saw the strange reflection. But it was gone. He was almost about to start walking again when, all of a sudden, once he lowered his paw, he saw the light of his torch causing the same greenish glow to appear. Only that he had a feeling that it was much closer to the shore than before…

He wasn't even able to react when the two green dots of light ejected toward him, along with nearly 2000 pounds of mass which constituted the rest of the marine stalker's body.

Splashing the water around, the animal attacked with the speed of a diving bird of prey. Nick's frightened shriek echoed within the walls of the tunnel… Tripping over, he collapsed to the floor, narrowly avoiding falling head-long into the sewer river. He dropped his flashlight, however, and after the torch rolled and dropped into the water, he was surrounded by darkness.

Panting desperately, he could only attempt to crawl on the wet surface of the pavement, away from the two flashing green eyes of the enormous crocodile who was slowly moving toward him. Down here, there was no Mathilda Blacktail to save him anymore...

He then heard a bellow, and the creature spoke to him in a low voice, making the hair on his neck bristle.

"Come closer, morsel… I smell your terror. And I _hunger!_ "

* * *

 **AN: (sings) _Exit, light. Enter, night. Take my hand. We're off to never-never land!_**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: An earlier update today. Wouldn't wanna keep you all hanging.  
**

 **Soundtrack- Metallica, _Enter Sandman_.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

The crocodile, a huge bulk of scales and muscle, was a true nightmare made flesh. He walked on all fours, didn't have any clothes on, and spoke with a distinct Scaledonian accent. His wet, scaly skin emmitted no scent whatsoever.

 _Of course they were hiding in the water…_ _How could I be so stupid!_ Nick scolded himself for his ignorance, gazing into the reptile's vertical pupils. It turned out that Fr. O'Rinse was right, all along.

As the reptile continued to close in on him, the fox indeed thought that this may have been the last mistake in his life.

But, after a few excruciating, long moments, the crocodile halted. Drops of filthy water falling from his toothy mouth and paws, he tilted his head, the shine in his eyes making the undercover cop think that he was looking at him with mockery.

Delighting in the mammal's helplessness, the beast snorted. And then he said:

"Were you prey, I'd have swallowed you already. But, since you're a predator… I shall grant you a short while to explain to me the reason of your presence here. _Suckling_."

Nick opened his mouth, but all that came out was a groan of horror.

The sight of the reptile, who'd attacked him so suddenly, still made his heart thump like a jackhammer. Trying desperately to control his breath, he also struggled to pull his thoughts together…

He could just shoot the crocodile, but since the creature didn't really act hostile, that would have been murder. And if he even as much as hinted to his attacker that he was a cop, he'd undoubtedly be torn to pieces in an instant.

There was only one option left. And, although it was terrible for Nick to imagine, being stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea almost literally, he had no other way in which he could save his hide right now. If he wanted to expose the reptiles' presence in the sewers, he first needed to get out of those sewers alive…

... and in order to do that... he needed to pretend to be a flesh-eater.

"D-don't hurt me, I'm one of you!" he cried out, not exactly knowing what he was saying.

The crocodile did not advance, however, and instead narrowed his eyes curiously.

"What do you mean by that, mammal?" he inquired.

Lifting himself up from the ground a bit more, Nick then stammered:

"I-I'm a carnivore. Like you. I like pork... and mutton chops... a-and _actual_ hamburgers! I've been a member of _B-butcher's Den_ , before the raid. I went into hiding afterwards. I've been… I've been _looking_ for you."

Spitting the words out made him lose his breath completely. As he lay there, panting, he observed the crocodile in front of him pondering over what he said.

Finally, the reptile spoke again.

"Another one, _hm?_ Very well. We shall determine whether or not you speak the truth."

After the creature said the words 'another one', Nick felt even worse… but when the crocodile stood up on his hind legs, towering over him like a skyscraper, he basically froze.

The crocodile then stood by the fox, glaring down at him with disdain, and using his tail, swiped the phone which lay by Nick's side into the filthy stream below.

"You will not be needing that down here," said the reptile coldly.

Then, making Nick flinch, he stretched out toward him his cold, wet paws, which were adorned with needle-sharp claws. Having nowhere to go though, Nick had to permit the creature to remove his holster, which he somehow managed to detect.

"Pathetic weakling!" hissed the croc, taking the undercover cop's gun. "Get up and move, you furry fool!"

Encouraged by such a direct order, the fox finally arose to his feet. The two predators then continued to walk down the damp corridor in darkness.

Straining his eyes due to his limited infravision, Nick followed the end of the reptile's massive tail in order not to lose track of him. His heart continued to beat like a drum. He had no idea what he'd just gotten himself into… but he was sure it was nothing good. He'd lost his phone, his map, and his gun. He just hoped he would be able to continue to successfully perform his dangerous hustle in spite of the paralyzing fear he felt…

He was now being led to the source of Zootopia's problems- that he knew. But in order to survive there himself, he needed to lie like no fox had never lied before.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed before his breath finally became relatively steady again, but when it did, he decided to ask the crocodile a few questions.

"Hey, uh…" he began, though his throat felt completely parched. "I'm Rob, by the way. Robin Gekker. What's your name?"

Nick decided that it would be best to stick to his alias, praying that where he was going, nobody had ever heard of him.

Not slowing down a bit, the crocodile bellowed:

"I am called Gnarlathotep the Sentinel."

 _What?! What kind of a name is that?_ the fox thought to himself. But that was obviously not what he said.

"So... _Gnarl… laugh… o'tep_. Where do you hail from? Scaledonia? I-It's kind of hard for me to place the accent… You must be pretty old for a crocodile, too, judging by your size? _Uh_ … you're not an _alligator_ … are you?"

For some time, as if exasperated by the mammal's clumsy inquiries, the reptile remained silent. Only after a longer moment did the underground halls resound with his dreary rumble again. His words, however, were far from a classical introduction.

" _I was old when the Pharaohs first mounted the jewel-deck'd throne by the Nile; I was old in those epochs uncounted when I, and I only, was vile_."

He quoted some piece of dreadful verse which Nick was not familiar with. What it reminded him of, however, were Fr. O'Rinse's stories about reptiles in Zootopia's underground being draconists- worshippers of dark spirits, and their master known as the Dragon…

The only thing that he was able to do then, was to yelp:

"Where're you taking me…?"

Gnarlathotep the Sentinel halted, almost making the fox trip over his tail. He then turned around, and with something that could have been a smirk, uttered:

"I'm taking you to what you seek. Don't you know that, suckling? When you gaze long into the abyss… the abyss also gazes into you!"

The origin of those words, even more cryptic and bizarre than the first quote, the police officer did in fact recognize. They came from Friedrich Itchy- a deranged philosopher, the author of the same book that Allastor LaCoste had been reading in the embassy. After his visit there, Nick researched that out of curiosity.

He was gathering more and more useful information with each step. Unfortunately, it also seemed that each step also led him deeper and deeper into darkness…

The mysterious crocodile did not go any further. Instead, he turned toward the wall.

"From now on, we walk according to the normal manner. Like you used to in _Butcher's Den_ ," he stated.

The fox then saw Gnarlathotep get down on all fours again, encouraging him to do the same. Nick took off his coat and tie, leaving them on the pavement…

When he also stood on both his front and hind legs, his eyes low above the ground, he was able to notice a hole in the wall, which was the opening of another, much narrower tunnel. Any animal who walked upright would have most likely missed it completely. And, what was also probable, many of them have, during the past week.

Scolding himself for his carelessness yet again, Nick followed the Sentinel into the gaping pit. He was almost sure that this section of tunnels had never been seen by anyone apart from the reptiles, and all other carnivores who were allied with them.

As they moved on through the narrow passage which seemed to have been drilled in solid stone, the fox's nostrils began detecting smells which were even more terrible than sewage…

The scent of rotting flesh.

Gnarlathotep led him through what seemed to be a whole network of corridors, which connected to dark, hollow chambers of some unknown purpose. A few times, Nick felt as if there were other creatures hiding within those chambers… but he wasn't sure.

He could hardly keep himself from shivering, and the cold dampness of the tunnels was not the reason for that.

The crocodile finally halted in a large hall, before a strange curtain of some sort. But the curtain was not the most terrifying thing in the room…

In front of the portal, as if guarding something, there lay the coiled body of a constrictor snake. The very sight of the limbless reptile, the like of which Nick had never seen before in his life, made the fox cringe.

As soon as the reptilian guard noticed the two predators approach, lifting his head, he slithered closer, testing the air with his tongue. That movement revealed to Nick that the serpent must have been about three or four times longer than him.

The hissing serpent first examined the terrified mammal with his completely black, passionless eyes. Then he turned toward his fellow reptile, and spoke in a tone which was surprisingly smooth.

"Ah, fresh meat! What have you brought usss this time, Sssentinel? A furry plaything for the Massster?"

"This Zootopian says he is a flesh-eater," Gnarlathotep revealed to him. "He claims to have been one of the Butcher's lot."

"A vulpine pupil of the great foxsss himself, is it?" the snake's hypnotizing, silky, androgynous voice, which made the unwilling visitor feel very uneasy for some reason, seemed to have adopted a note of pleasure, somehow. "The Massster will be thrilled!"

Then both of the reptiles, glaring at him in anticipation, indicated to Nick that they wanted him to cross to the other side of the curtain.

The fox hesitated for a while… but then, knowing full well that if he didn't go himself, they would have forced him to it, he began walking slowly…

The serpent guard slithered forward, however, blocking his way.

"Do you wish to offend the Massster by wearing those _rags_ , sssuckling?!" he issued an angry hiss.

Nick knew perfectly what the reptile had in mind. Gruesome, almost unbearable memories of _Butcher's Den_ suddenly invaded his thoughts again. This place was far too similar to that bloody, dreadful dungeon of horror…

Obeying in silence, forcing himself to overcome his shame, he took the rest of his clothes off, which Gnarlathotep then collected. It seemed that the Sentinel wanted to put them away somewhere, along with the officer's gun and holster.

Now completely naked and on all fours, just like a wild beast, Nick proceeded to cross to the other side of the long black curtain which was a barrier between him, and the unknown. As he did so, the terror he felt almost freezing his heart and preventing his limbs from moving properly, he recalled the quote from Friedrich Itchy which he heard the crocodile utter earlier.

 _When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you._

After the thick material of the curtain fawned against his sides, he entered a high stone chamber, which was illuminated by the light of two candles. As soon as he did that, however, he almost stumbled. The scents within the room immediately struck him, causing his stomach to cramp. His system, suffering from meat withdrawal, addressed him with a demand he had been struggling with for months. A ravenous, savage hunger, which now attacked him with a newfound strength.

The candles which illuminated the room were made of real animal tallow, the smell of which permeated the air along with the horrid stink of putrid flesh. The dreadful sensation almost suffocated the predator, and caused his sight to become blurry for a while. But when he could finally take a closer look at the interior of the chamber…

He regretted ever coming down here. Even all of the cruel and revolting things he saw in _Butcher's Den_ were nothing compared to the sight which now stood before his eyes…

There were bones lying all around, making it hard for him to walk without tripping over one of them. The floor and walls were covered in blood. Everything had about it the nauseating stink of death and putrefaction. Before him, near the back of the chamber, there lay a tanned skin of what appeared to have been a large fallow deer, which now served as bedding for…

Something.

The creature was huge and dark, its shape twisted and outworldly, even more frightening than that of Gnarlathotep. It gazed at the fox with black-and-gold eyes that pierced his very soul. Its scaly skin reminded him of chain mail. The tongue with which the beast sampled the air was long and forked.

Overcome with utter horror, the meager mammal was only able to whimper a single question.

"What… _are_ you?"

Arising from the hide on which it rested, the beast slithered his way slowly, frightening him so badly he had to sit down of his rump, shiverring, his tail tucked between his legs. After it halted before him in all of its reptilian majesty, gazing down at the quivering Zootopian, the creature spoke with the voice as deep as the underground tunnel they were in.

"I am the Dragon. Before me, you rightly tremble."

The reptile put his tongue out a few more times, blinking with a single, transparent, horizontal eyelid, and Nick felt as if it were literally savoring his fear. It then bellowed:

"... but fear is not what you owe me. You owe me _awe_."

* * *

 **AN: Enter the Dragon. Boy, is Nick screwed now...**

 **(sings)** _ **Something's wrong, shut the light, heavy thoughts tonight, and they aren't of Snow White. Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragon's fire, and of things that will bite!**_ **(bobs head)** _ **  
**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The creature that sat inside the interrogation room was an odd one, even by reptilian standards. It looked like a crocodile, but was smaller, and had a strange, narrow, oblong muzzle which looked like a saw with two sets of teeth sticking out of it.

Judy checked her file again. The data contained there said: Oberyn, predator, gharial ( _Gavialis gangeticus_ ), aged 38, Scaledonian.

Most Scaledonians, even those who lived in Zootopia, did not have last names. But that was not the scariest thing about them. Many Zootopian scientists speculated that reptiles in general, being older than mammals, also remained on a lower level of evolution. Some said that they were psychologically and mentally underdeveloped, lacked the ability to experience higher emotions, and were therefore more prone to savagery. That was supposed to be why Scaledonia never accepted the enlightened laws of the mammals, and also why there were so few reptiles living in their city.

But the rabbit lieutenant, as open-minded as she was even despite what she'd been through, gave no credence to those insinuations, and did her best to hide her repulsion toward the creature she was about to interrogate. After all, she didn't employ the famous horse, detective Oates, to bring her the most 'suspicious' scalies in Zootopia, just to immediately scare them away by treating them disrespectfully.

Entering the white-washed room, she circled around the table where Oberyn the gharial sat, and took the seat right in front of him, throwing her folder on the wooden surface.

A thumping sound echoed within the walls, but the reptile's green eyes remained passionless.

"You must be lieutenant Hopps?" asked he, banging the table with his claws. "I'm pleased to finally meet you. I've only been waiting three hours for you to show up."

Judy noticed that, probably out of impatience, the reptile had rolled up the sleeves of his blue shirt. She didn't notice any sort of coat. The poliktotherm must have not been affected by the winter cold outside.

"Yes, my name is Judy Hopps," she confirmed, also piercing her interrogated with a watchful gaze, minding the gun she carried at her side. "Mr. Oberyn. Do you know why we called you here today?"

The reptile, still motionless, only blinked with his filmy horizontal eyelid.

" _Oberyn_ 's fine, no need to use titles, or pretend that you impart toward me with any sort of respect," he then said coldly. "No, I don't, though I would like to. Your cop friends pulled me into their squad car as I was on my way to work, and delivered me no explanations, nor the opportunity to make my customary phone call."

His cocky attitude irritated Judy, and made her feel even more suspicious.

"My records inform me," she spoke to him redirecting her sight toward her file, "that although you are not a Zootopia citizen, you've broken the city law on several different occasions. Would you mind explaining that to me?"

As an answer, the gharial released air from his nostrils, what was probably a snort. Judy felt that, if he had lips, he would now be smirking.

"Traffic violations. Speeding. In the car I _legally_ own, by the way. Do you interrogate every animal in this city who commits such terrible crimes? The ZPD must have an unlimited amount of time at their disposal, in spite of everything that's going on… Or, did you call me here only because I'm a reptile?"

That was actually true. But not wanting to admit it, Judy returned to the subject.

"Oberyn, don't lie to me," she spoke calmly, setting her paws on the documents she had. "You know as well as I do that it wasn't just speeding. Two months ago, you ignored a red light in the Rainforest District, and caused a collision that involved three other cars."

"The _result_ of speeding," he immediately responded, raising his voice slightly. "On that very day, October 19th, my first son hatched from his egg. I believe that's comparable to what you mammals call a _birth_. I wanted to be with my wife _very much_ to witness that. Didn't your records mention this little detail? Oh, but you're a female, so I'm sure you understand regardless."

Indeed, there was nothing in her files regarding the circumstances… Crestfallen, Judy moved her folder to the side vigorously. This conversation was starting to bug her more and more, but she still had some tricks in her arsenal.

"May I see your ID, your driver's license, and your passport?" she asked.

"Why, of course!" said Oberyn. "After all, what would a Scaledonian living in Zootopia's day be without the authorities ordering him to flash his papers!"

Reaching into the back pocket of his pants, the gharial pulled out the requested documents, and put them before the annoyed lieutenant Hopps. Judy snatched them, and began inspecting them closely.

The reptile indeed possessed a Zootopian ID card with a valid social security number. His license was also okay. When the rabbit took a look at the green card in his passport, however, she narrowed her eyes.

"This has been expired for two weeks now," she pointed out triumphantly, almost ending the sentence with a _touché_.

Oberyn, however, was unaffected. With a deep sigh, he took out his wallet. Although Judy was almost anticipating him to try to offer her a bribe (which would have been delightful), the reptile instead drew some crumbled up sheet of paper, and after unfolding it, showed it to the cop.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at the Xerox copy of something.

"This is proof that I have both filled in, and filed a ZI-63 form at the Zootopia Immigration Office," the gharial explained to her. "And, in case you don't know what a ZI-63 is, lieutenant Hopps, because why would you, let me explain to you that it is a form used to request the prolongation of a Zootopian Immigrant Visa, commonly known as a green card, under the usual conditions. Anyone who had successfully filed a ZI-63 before the expiration of his green card, as you can see for yourself I had myself done, is, according to Zootopian law, permitted to stay within the city limits until his visa is prolonged. That means that I am staying here legally. If you want to, I can bring you the original form. I have it at home. Just like my wife. My son doesn't need one, in case you're wondering, as having hatched in a Zootopia hospital, unlike his Scaledonian parents, he is officially a citizen."

Judy felt as humiliated as when Nick had shown her his permit to sell pawpsickles all those years ago… But she was way more experienced now, and wouldn't let herself be silenced that easily.

"I'm happy to hear that," she responded, not losing her delicate smile, as she gave the reptile his papers back. "However, I'd like to ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind. Where do you live, Oberyn? Where do you work? How do you like it here, in Zootopia?"

The gharial hesitated a bit, but then said:

"I live on the Bayous, in the Canal District, just like 80% of this city's reptiles. I'm a manual laborer in the docks. Do I like it? _Puh._ If I live a day without some mammal pointing their finger at me, calling me a cold-blooded freak, I usually rather enjoy it. That's just part of the reward we all get for adapting to your _civilized_ laws…"

"Why won't you leave, then?" the rabbit cut him off, wishing to check his reaction after such a surprising question. "Wouldn't life be easier for you if you went back to Scaledonia?"

For a second, the reptile had his eyes fixed at her. She could almost sense a look of sarcasm, which was only proven by his answer.

"Ohh, you'd love that, wouldn't you, _mammal_?" Oberyn bellowed in a low voice, mocking her. "I can feel you're afraid of me, no use trying to hide it. You're all afraid. But we will not give you that pleasure. You've opened your city to everyone, and now you must face the consequences."

He then suddenly stood up.

"I am, however, leaving _this_ place," the gharial announced.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Judy immediately hopped to her feet and, running up to him, attempted to stop him from exiting the room. She hesitated before touching his scaly skin, however.

Oberyn halted, and turned to face her one last time.

"I understand that you fear us more than other predators, and that your fear makes you think that _we_ are responsible for all those disappearances," he said casually, no longer wishing to jeer. "But I assure you, I know nothing of it. Check my blood if you like, but gharials are piscivores- even my ancestors in Scaledonia only ate fish all their lives. And _that_ , according to the laws of your city, is legal. Those same laws, however, do not permit you to hold me here without my consent, or without pressing any real charges. Therefore, I bid you farewell, lieutenant Hopps. I have to return to work now- I need your Zootopian dollars to buy fish for my family."

Defeated, Judy then let him leave. Sitting back at the table, groaning with anger, she glared at the papers before her again. They said nothing about Oberyn being a fish-eater… If she'd known that, it would have saved both of them a lot of time and nerves.

Sighing in exasperation, though definitely not ready to give up, she grabbed her phone and dialed Clawhauser's number.

"Ben? Would you mind bringing me a latte to the interrogation room?" she asked when the officer answered the call. "And after that… please send in another one of those reptiles."

* * *

Several miles away and a couple hundred feet below, Judy's partner was also standing face to face with a reptile. Though the difference was that Nick felt way worse than the rabbit.

Straining his eyes to see better in the dim light of the tallow candles, he attempted desperately to calm his unsteady breath, and make out the shape of the beast that stood before him. Its appearance indeed inspired awe… in the sense that it was awful, not awesome.

"D-dragon…?" the whimpering mammal barely stammered, repeating the name with which the creature introduced itself. "Y-you cccan't… you can't be… _the_ Dragon!"

Testing the air a few more times, continuing to drill the fox with his piercing stare, the beast uttered its response.

"We are many… Explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some. Angels to others."

Although the echoing of his deep voice within the bloodied stone walls of the chamber, as well as his gruesome words, made Nick quiver, in spite of his paralyzing fear, he was able to notice that the reptile was, actually, a Komodo dragon- a huge monitor lizard. And, though rumor applied to that particular species the freakish abilities of parthenogenesis and poisoning other animals with its very saliva, he was a being of flesh and blood, nonetheless. Without any wings, and probably without fire breath.

Before Nick was able to recover, the crocodile and the snake also crossed to the other side of the curtain, bowing their heads before their master.

"What of this suckling, Sentinel?" the Dragon turned toward Gnarlathotep.

"I found him by the southern entrance," explained the reptile. "He says he had been a follower of the Butcher."

"Ah, is that so?" the monitor inquired curiously, standing even closer to Nick, who would have crawled away if the others weren't right behind him, and almost touched him with his tongue. "What is your name, mammal?"

"R-robin. Robin Gekker…" stuttered the fox, almost forgetting to use his alias by accident.

The Dragon narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I do not recall your scent, nor your name," he stated.

"I j-joined very late. Only a few w-weeks before… the police came…"

"And how did you survive? I heard Zootopians have already slain most of Butcher's carnivores."

"Yes, they did. But I hid…"

The Dragon then silenced, and continued to look at the shuddering fox as if he were dissecting his very soul.

Finally, the snake decided to say something.

"Tessst him, Massster!" he hissed. "There isss but one way to know if this sssuckling is true to his word!"

The monitor nodded.

"I agree." Then, turning to the crocodile, he said: "Bring him something small. A token of his sincerity… and a reward, if he truly is one of us."

Gnarlathotep bowed his head again, and went away.

Nick had to put a strain on all of his willpower in order not to scream. He understood perfectly what this 'test' would be… And it immediately reminded him of all the torturous experiences he had gone through in _Butcher's Den_. Tightening his muscles, he remained completely motionless on the outside, though his conscience was crying out.

The Sentinel returned shortly, carrying something in his mouth. When he dropped it right in front of Nick, the mammal didn't dare to look at first…

"Eat," the Dragon ordered him. "Sate the hunger of a carnivore, if you are one."

Shaking uncontrollably, the fox lowered his head, and opened his eyes.

Before him lay a dead sewer rat, one just like those he spoke to but a few hours earlier, only deprived of his clothes. The carcass was still warm, and it seemed that Gnarlathotep had only just snapped the rodent's neck. An expression of pain and horror was still imprinted on the poor small animal's face…

 _When you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you… and he who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster…_ Nick repeated the full quote from Friedrich Itchy in his thoughts grimly.

There was no holding back. He had no more foxy tricks, no more clever words he could use to talk himself out of this. His body, weakened by the stress and the surroundings which only made his instincts rage viciously, had no more strength to resist the natural urge to feed. His mind was of no use, either, as it understood that, if he failed the reptiles' test, he would not see the light of day ever again.

He had been a terrible cop. But now it seemed that he was on his way to become a monster.

The fox began to devour the rat's flesh ravenously, wishing for this gruesome meal to end as soon as possible. And he was embarrassed with himself for having enjoyed it as much as he did…

A short while later, all that was left were bones, fur, and guts. The sound of the deranged street preacher's voice resounded within the fox's mind, crying out with accusation and admonition: _I see blood on your fangs, as well! Lest ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish!_

Licking the blood from his lips, the carnivorous predator turned towards the satisfied reptile master.

"There… I told you," he addressed him, breathing heavily. "I appreciate your… gift. Now, would you give me back my belongings, and show me the way to the city?"

It couldn't have been that easy, however.

"I will not allow that yet," the Dragon spoke sternly. "You have become our blooded apprentice, and you may not exit these tunnels until you are found worthy. Now, you must come with us. Taste our pleasures…"

The monitor then turned toward the snake.

"Ra! _Tu es qui eum docebit_!" he adressed him in a tongue the fox did not understand.

The serpent bowed and, with a delighted glimmer in his eye, slithered toward the confused and devastated Nick.

"Follow me, sssuckling," he hissed. "There isss nothing to fear. You are among friendsss…"

* * *

 **AN: The first part of this chapter is dedicated to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the customs officials at the O'Hare and JFK airports, who continue to treat Polish citizens as dangerous troglodytes thirty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain.**

 **We can see that both of our protagonists aren't doing so well... While Judy is committing one mistake after another in her hunt for reptiles, the scaly adversaries have already managed to seize her partner, and put him in a position as low as when he was the prisoner of Oscar Fangley.**

 **Remember that failure is an indispensable part of life.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: _Warning_ \- mature content ahead.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

With a full stomach, as well as an aching conscience, Nick followed the snake outside of the Dragon's lair.

The python's name was Ra, and, as he himself revealed to the fox, it was his duty to show him around the underground complex. Realizing, to his astonishment, that he was now safe, the mammal decided it would be best to have his eyes and ears open, and gather as much info as he could before he would finally be able to escape, and end this nightmare once and for all.

Walking down the cold, stony corridors on his shaking front and hind legs, with the serpent slithering by his side, Nick inquired about the nature of this gruesome place he was in. Ra then told him that it was much like _Butcher's Den_ , only without all of the outward appearance meant to fool ignorant onlookers. In the case of this carnivore haven, there _were_ no onlookers- only members. If anyone was caught nearby who was not a predator, he would soon become food for the flesh-eaters, just like the unlucky rat who became Nick's lunch.

When the fox pointed out that this place didn't seem very large, and that he wasn't seeing many other reptiles moving about, the amused snake responded that remaining unseen was their specialty. He also shocked Nick by saying that this was only one of many underground outposts, which the scaly invaders had been able to establish after Oscar Fangley opened to them the access to Zootopia's underground. When the curious fox inquired about how many such lairs existed, Ra told him that there was one for each of the city's districts. All of them were interconnected by a network of tunnels, and each was governed by a different Komodo dragon.

"It sounds to me that you're like Zootopia's tapeworms," the infuriated Nick mouthed an insult, disguising it as words of praise. "You hide in the city's bowels, secretly sucking the life out of it."

After a moment of consideration, Ra answered in a much more bitter tone, probably not enjoying having been compared to a tapeworm.

"You are missstaken, my furry friend. What we are actually isss the cancer in Zootopia's colon. And we shall thusss be the caussse of her _death_."

The fox said nothing afterward. What he was seeing and hearing as they moved on also did not quite make him too eager for conversation…

Ra presented to him a spacious chamber which looked like a natural cave in the stone wall, and encouraged him to enter. But when he did, heading toward the candle light inside, Nick greatly regretted it.

He now knew perfectly whom he was facing. The reptiles were clearly monsters, savage beasts without conscience or respect for other animals' lives. They were far lower than even the Butcher's carnivores… Truly frightened, Nick understood that the assumption that they had something to do with the Devil himself, was not far from the truth.

The cavern was some sort of a sick trophy room. On the walls, there hung the severed heads of prey animals, mostly bovine, stuffed and preserved by means of taxidermy. The light of the tallow candles reflected from their dead, glass eyes, making their antlers cast ghastly shadows. The floors were carpeted with the tanned pelts of deer, sheep, wild boars, and others…

The fox stood petrified for a second. He felt as if his reason was slowly slipping away, and he had trouble controlling his reactions.

"Come, apprentice!" his serpentine host encouraged him. "There isss much more I need to show you, but firssst, we mussst complete certain formalitiesss."

Nick followed him obediently, without a word, and stood before a ghastly pedestal made of various animal bones. Atop of the pulpit, there lay a large book. The leather of its cover had a symbol of a crocodile with the horns of a goat and the wings of a fallen angel imprinted on it. The title of the book was 'LIBER DRACONIS'.

"You have now entered the domain of the Order of the Dragon," Ra hissed to him. "We are ssso ancient and sssecret that even many of the lower-ranking members of _Butcher's Den_ did not even know of our existence. I'm sure that includes you. Our practicesss may be… _shocking_ to you at firssst, but worry not. Above all, we believe in freedom. You don't have to partake in all our ritualsss, if you're not ready for it…"

The fox did not even dare to imagine what kind of 'rituals' this deranged reptile had in mind. Instead, he gazed at the book, while Ra explained to him its purpose.

"Asss a blooded apprentice, you mussst sign your name in the Order's annals. All carnivoresss who come here are obliged to do the sssame. We mussst keep track of our growing numbersss in the underground of Zootopia."

Forcing himself to touch the genuine animal skin that covered the book, Nick slowly opened it to the first page. The sheets inside were made of parchment, and had long columns of names and ranks, written in what was either blood-red ink, or actual blood.

The first name on the list, written in by the fox's own paw, was that of Oscar Fangley. His rank within the draconite Order was specified as 'master butcher'. Right below was the signature of Robert Woodsworth, who had been a 'fellow carver'. Those two names, as well as many others, which Nick also recognized, had by them an 'X' which indicated that they were deceased.

As he continued to turn the pages of this disgusting tome, Nick also noticed many names of new members. Celebrities, polititians, members of the city's highest echelons... Before he got to the end, he lost count, but to his shock he saw that there must have been at least several hundred of them. The clandestine carnivores he and the whole ZPD had failed to apprehend.

"Now, sssign yourself in," Ra ordered him, pointing at an inkwell which stood by the book.

The glass vessel with a crimson fluid inside had a long thin bone with a nib at the end sticking out of it. The fox seized it with his trembling fingers, and then scribbled his faux name 'Robin Gekker' on the white surface of the sheepskin.

When he put the pen back, the python hissed to him, delighted.

"Good! Now we can move on."

They exited the horrifying chamber, but Nick didn't feel in the least bit good about that. Actually, he felt nothing anymore. The excess of horror just caused him to become passive and hollow.

He didn't even react to the silent sounds that reached them from the other side of the corridor they were going down- sound which resembled silent yelps, sobs, and cries for help…

Ra presented to him next a room crudely walled with cheap bricks, which had racks and shelves filled with various items, mostly clothing.

"We call thisss our _wardrobe_ ," explained the python. "Here we ssstore the belongings of our _guesssts_ which they no longer need. When your training isss complete, we will bring you here so that you can retrieve your clothesss, and return to the city undetected. This isss also where you can leave them again when you come back here to feed."

The sight of piles of clothing which mostly belonged to long-dead prey animals would have been a gut-wrenching sight to anyone else, but the fox had by now seen so much he didn't even care, and simply observed everything passionlessly.

He lost track of time. Ra showed him a few more places like workshops where the reptiles made candles and other things needed for their outpost, as well as the sleeping quarters, but Nick walked as if in a dream. Or rather, a nightmare.

He only opened his eyes when he noticed his mouth watering as he found himself in the slaughterhouse. Literally, it was a place where the carnivores carved up the carcasses of their prey, adjacent to a cooler. He even saw some predator mammal at one of the tables, at the moment busy with separating meat from the bones of a dead horse. Beside him stood a bucket, already full of the equine's guts.

Nick had thought that he had experienced cruelty, and thus fear, at _Butcher's Den_. But he was wrong. That day, he experienced true fear.

"Thisss is Rufusss, my sssecond apprentice," Ra introduced Nick to the other animal.

When he turned around from the carcass, and wiped the blood from his paws in the apron which was the only thing he had on, the fox almost gasped. Because before him stood the bobcat named Rufus Links- a well-known Zootopian psychologist, and a former alderman in one of the city's precincts. The very same animal whose acquittal Nick had seen on TV just a few weeks earlier.

It turned out that the jury for that case was indeed corrupt.

The feline smiled delicately, greeting the new arrival.

"Pleased to meet another fellow carnie," he said. "I'd shake your paw, but mine are a bit dirty at the moment, as you can see. I'm Rufus Links."

"Robin Gekker," the infuriated fox tried hard to state his name as politely as he could, and not lunge at the lying bobcat with fangs exposed.

"I don't suppose we've met before?" the feline inquired.

"Perhapsss at _Butcher's Den_?" Ra joined the conversation.

Rufus' eyes widened in astonishment.

" _You_ were a member, Mr. Gekker?!"

"Yes… but only for a while. We must have never ran into one another," Nick quickly patched up a coherent response in spite of his state of trance. But, actually, everything he said was true, and he thanked God that the Bobcat did not recognize him. Thankfully, Nick was not directly involved in the feline's trial.

"Well, in that case, I congratulate you on surviving," Rufus exposed his sharp teeth in a grin. "I myself had lots of trouble with the police, as well as finding this place finally with the cops snooping all around the sewers… I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing you at the feast!"

"T-the _feast_?" the fox stammered, hearing such a gruesome announcement… He was almost sure that pitiful yelps like this would eventually cause him to expose himself.

Ra, however, remained enthusiastic.

"Yesss, there's a feassst tonight!" he announced with joy. "We better leave Rufusss to his work, and prepare ourselvesss! Come, Robin."

The bobcat nodded to him, but the fox didn't even respond, following the serpent out of the slaughterhouse.

As he trotted down the stone halls, with the scent of meat still permeating the air all round him, in total despair, he almost laughed internally.

 _Oh shit, oh shit… what have you gotten yourself into, Wilde…_

But the most grotesque thing was not his own attack of crazed amusement, but the fact that his host, eager for the evening celebration which his brethren were supposedly readying, completely unfazed by how terrifying that was, actually began to sing.

" _God help the outcasssts, hungry from birth. Show them the mercy they don't find on Earth. God help my people, the poor and down-trod. I thought we all were children of God!"_

His high-pitched, jeering hiss echoed within the tunnels, and made Nick look at the snake as if he were a crazy person. Obviously, Ra's 'prayer' was merely blasphemy.

"You… believe in God?" the fox asked him when the reptile was done with his song, perplexed.

"Why, of courssse!" Ra responded completely seriously. "If there isss no Father of All, then we've got no one to rebel againssst. And if there'sss no Lawgiver, then there are no lawsss to break."

"Is that why you mock Him, then?" the fox, disgusted by that twisted philosophy, inquired.

The serpent made a sound which could have been a laugh.

"The fact that I believe in God doesss not necesssarily mean that I care about what he thinksss, does it?" he retorted, amused.

Nick asked nothing more, as the scents he was now feeling caused the tension in his chest to become almost unbearable.

It appeared that they have finally reached the dungeons, where the carnivores' still-living food was held. And, indeed, the room Ra led the fox to turned out to be a dark prison cell. The sight of the bars, reminding him of his own imprisonment in _Butcher's Den_ , made him cringe…

But in the corner of the cell, there was a sight much more gruesome.

It was a female hare with brown fur, naked and terrified. When she turned her face to look at her captors, a tearful yelp issuing from her throat, her eyes met with those of the fox.

She must have been there for days. Her fur was haggard and dirty, and she seemed completely exhausted. All she was able to do was to gaze at the carnivore pleadingly, her tears shining in the dark of the cold, stone chamber.

The most dreadful thing was that Nick felt nothing. It was as if someone had hit him on the head with something heavy, rendering him unable to feel anymore.

He barely heard the python asking him a question.

"Would you like to be the one to do it?" Ra spoke as if it were a trifle.

"What…?" the fox redirected his eyes at him, completely stunned.

"Would you like to be the one to _kill this prey_?" the snake repeated, emphasizing the last words.

The doe burst out in tears, making Nick look toward her again.

"I-I can't…" he stammered. "N-no, I'm not gonna do that! At _Butcher's Den_ … we never had to… we were never forced to… to…"

He finally became speechless. Ra continued to glare at him for a while, blinking with his filmy eyelid, and then snorted.

" _Hmf!_ Very well. You may need time, I understand that. But know thisss- unless you learn to ssslay your prey, the Dragon will most likely not let you return to Zootopia. Jussst to let you know."

The python then slithered away, leaving Nick alone with the hare crying in her corner. She gazed at him the same way prey animals did so many times before he joined the police- with the same fear and distrust he had always despised so much. Only this time, it was far more justified.

He had eaten the meat of other animals, that was true, but he could _not_ let himself become a murderer… Or, at least, he desperately held on to the hope that being here would not deprive him of his sanity completely. Because he was, in fact, going insane. As a police officer, he ought to open the cage door, and release the hare. Even if both of them would die before even exiting the dungeons. But, instead, he just stood there, his mind filled with a pitch-black hollow vacuum, immobilizing him.

Ra returned with Gnarlathotep the Sentinel, who was now wearing a pouch dangling from his shoulder, similar to the ones worn by the members of _Butcher's Den_. Only that his was not made of wool, but of actual fur. The crocodile took out of it a bundle of keys, opened the cell, and then left.

Ra then fixed his eyes at the doe, sticking out his tongue, savoring her taste in the air. Slowly, he slivered pass the door and closer to her, making her curl up by the wall, sobbing.

"Poor baby… you need a sssong," hissed the python.

He then began to sing, his tone smooth and relaxing.

" _Little bunny, bunny… you're ssso pretty and cute, and precioussss to me… I love you, your bunny fur is great. Oh beautiful bunny, come play…"_

Surprisingly, his prey was affected by the words of his song. She stopped shaking and crying, fixing her eyes at Ra's black pupils instead.

He pounced at her in the blink of an eye, grabbing the hare by the throat with his jaws and enlacing her between the muscled coils of his body before she was even able to squeal.

The sound that reached Nick's ears then was that of bones breaking. The last fortunate thing in the prey animal's life was the fact that her spinal cord was severed early, what greatly redued the pain she felt before her death.

A few minutes later, Ra slowly released the doe from his deadly embrace. Then, without warning, he picked up the mangled corpse from the floor of the cell, and cast it right before Nick's nose.

The fox gazed down at the carcass, but the only thing he could think of was how hungry that sight made him feel...

"Take that and follow me," the serpent ordered. "Don't touch the meat jussst yet, however. We need to get ready for the feassst!"

When Nick grabbed the hare in his jaws, drool dripping from his mouth, he followed Ra to the slaughterhouse. There they met with Rufus again, who showed the fox how to skin and gut the game. As Nick observed all of that absentmindedly, the snake commended his other apprentice's developing skills.

The stuned predator was by now only able to rely on his will for survival. His mind became dormant in result of shock, and the driving factor in his actions was now purely his primitive instincts. He simply couldn't wait to finally eat meat again.

The feast began in the evening, and all carnivores present at the outpost met in a large hall which had the skull of a goat hanging on one of the walls. When Nick entered there himself, he saw Rufus, Ra, Gnarlathotep, and a few other reptiles gather with the Dragon, their master, around a pile of various animal body parts that had been prepared in the middle of the room. All were naked, down on all fours, bellowing and growling beasts.

"We have long lain dormant," their master spoke to everyone, "and the time to awaken has come. After our long sleep, we are filled with great hunger. Soon, now, we shall feed... These lands shall be defiled, and our brood shall overrun the fields that others call home. Our tendrils shall envelop this world, and we will feast on the flesh of its denizens. Prey shall become our chattel and sustenance…."

His low voice whipped up those assembled into a hungry frenzy. They could hardly restrain themselves anymore, and began moving closer and closer to the meat.

"Feast now, my brothers! You are finally free!" the Dragon gave them his final acquiescence.

Then all of them, reptiles and mammals alike, threw themselves at the gathered flesh in a ravenous fit, tearing and ripping whatever morsel they could sink their teeth in, sometimes out of one another's mouth, until there was nothing left.

And the fox, Nicholas Wilde, ate with them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

As the number of disappearances around the city increased, the methods of the de facto chief of the ZPD, lieutenant Hopps, went from radical to ruthless.

Dozens of reptiles were taken from the streets of the Canal District, and underwent increasingly long and meticulous interrogations. But getting any information from them was comparable to trying to draw blood from a rock. News about the police's doings spread fast among the scaly population, and soon they began to loudly voice their concerns. Accordingly, Judy's underlings, not seeing any effect in her methods and sick of listening to the reptiles' complaints, also started to question the rabbit's competence…

She took that as a private insult, however, and delivered to them a talk in which she explained to the officers vigorously and at length how going against authority even lessened the already lamentable results of the carnivore hunt. Then, backing up her plan with appropriate relocations and new assignments, she announced that she expected all of them to double their efforts. Even if Christmas was only a pawful of days away.

Judy then called detective Oates, telling him that, since the reptile interrogations have not only brought no results, but also successfully set the whole scaly population against the police, he and his team were from now on return to working in secret. Their target, however, were not to be the reptiles themselves, as they could obviously lie and otherwise abscond the truth, but their homes, which the detectives were to enter and search under the absence of their owners, looking for all possible blameworthy evidence. When the horse pointed out that this wasn't exactly legal, Judy told him that, in that case, he better do everything he could to not get caught.

A day or two later, early in the morning, lieutenant Hopps entered through the main doors of her station, eager to find out how her orders were being carried out.

First, she simply sent a narrowed stare to officer Clawhauser, what meant to signify that she noticed the powdered sugar with which he'd stained his shirt again, and that he better not forget to bring her latte before half-past-eight. Next, the rabbit walked by few of the other officers, making them clear off from her way, straightening their backs in fearful submission despite most of them being predators who were several times her size.

Entering her office, Judy sat heavily in her chair, viewing through the morning reports. She didn't give them much attention, though, as she had other things on her mind. Soon, she reached for her phone, dialing detective Oates' number. But, for some reason, he did not answer.

He was meant to deliver to her the results of the reptile apartment raids last night, and since, as of yet, she heard nothing from him, it made her frustration increase even more. She was slowly becoming disillusioned with this famous detective, who had once been her role model…

When Clawhauser brought her coffee, she began sipping it, immersed in gloomy thoughts. For a while, she wondered how Nick was doing, but quickly shooed the thought away. After all, she deliberately gave him the time off so he could cool down after his failed search… But the fact was that, after the same amount of time, she was doing no better. That made her grind her teeth in fury. Perhaps this whole reptile thing was all just another trick…?

She almost jumped when she heard someone knocking on the door, waking her from her grim meditations. She noticed the shape of one of the larger officers through the glass.

"Go away, I'm busy!" she lied, involuntarily opening some random file.

But then the person outside began turning the door knob. She was almost about to scream at the insubordinate underling, when…

… she saw the face of Chief Bogo.

Her boss was in uniform, carrying a cane in his paw, and a frown on his face. As soon as he entered her office, she sprung up to her feet with a gasp.

" _Chief Bogo!_ I-I didn't realize you were able to walk already!"

Judy soon scolded herself internally for stating that without any enthusiasm whatsoever, but rather in disappointment… The buffalo noticed that, wrinkling his brow even more as he limped to stand before her desk.

" _Uhm._ Please, sit… sir," she offered. And then remembered that Bogo had been shot in the butt…

"Thank you, I'm fine standing, lieutenant Hopps," he uttered dryly. " _You,_ however, better sit down."

Biting her lip, the rabbit at once obeyed. Her boss then relaxed a bit, which was surprising.

"So, how's the investigation coming along?" he inquired, leaning on his walking stick in order to relieve his injured limbs. "I've heard that you've found out that there's actually a wholly different culprit responsible for all of those horrible occurrences going on in Zootopia."

" _Yes!_ " Judy responded, wishing to explain the whole spectrum of her plan. "We have reliable information which points out the reptiles living in the city as the true threat. I made sure to establish this as the main focus of our search…"

"And what are the results?" Bogo cut her off before she said half of what she wanted to. And, after such a question, she really had nothing more to say…

The buffalo eyed her inquisitively as she stuttered, unable to find the right words.

"Where do you have this _reliable information_ from, anyway?" he then continued with a litany of questions, each new one being harder than the latter. "Who gave you permission to rearrange the other stations' agendas, relying on nothing but these rumors? And to hold legal immigrants for questioning without their consent? _Do you have any idea what are the results of your doings, lieutenant Hopps?!_ "

Sitting there speechless, her ears flat, the rabbit was only able to mumble:

"N-no. I mean… What's going on, sir…?"

Chief Bogo looked like he wanted to do something very violent… Instead, he just knocked on the floor with his cane, and sighed deeply. Then, with a mocking tone, he began:

"Oh, not much. Imagine that, last night, I received a phone call from a certain individual who introduced himself as Allastor LaCoste, the Scaledonian ambassador in Zootopia. He revealed to me, much angrier than I am now, that he also just received a call from a certain reptile living in the Canal District, who had called the police when, returning from work earlier, he noticed someone prowling about his house. How shocked were the officers from the patrol when, barging into that apartment with guns drawn, they found none other than their colleague, detective Oates! _Without a search warrant!_ I spoke with detective Oates just an hour ago, and he told me _who_ exactly ordered him to undertake this daring burglary. Oh, and guess what? LaCoste is suing the ZPD. He wants retaliation for what he called _mammal speciesist hate crimes_ against his fellow scalies. He said he won't rest until we pay up."

The huge bovine's sarcasm was even worse than his rage… With each sentence that came from his mouth, a new shiver ran down Judy's spine.

"Sir, I can explain…" she mumbled, trying to control her twitching nose.

But then Bogo lost it completely.

"I leave Zootopia in your paws for _three weeks_ , and when I come back, the city's in _utter disarray_! A predator nearly shot you dead just days ago, and instead of investigating _that_ , you decide to play around with crocs, having sent our best officers to wallow around in the swamp?! Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND, Hopps?!"

The sight of the buffalo's bloodshot eyes truly made her shiver. But, indeed, she didn't even realize that the situation was this bad!

"And to think that I took you for the more reasonable half of your duo with Wilde!" her boss finally huffed. "Where is that fox, anyway?"

 _Oh no… oh no…_ the rabbit yelped internally.

"I-I suspended him…" she was only able to whisper.

"WHAT?!" the sound of the buffalo's cane banging the office floor resounded within the room again. "I only gave you permission to _degrade_ him, not _dismiss_ him! Don't you realize we need all the officers on duty right now?! I can't believe this! He's your _partner_ , Hopps! Why in the world would you do such a thing?!"

The first answer that came to her mind was- _because he tried to attack me, and was a drug user_. But she couldn't possibly do that to him. Her second answer was- _because he'd failed in doing his job_. But right now, she herself was just as guilty as Nick…

Standing to attention before her angry superior, the rabbit officer found no words to justify her actions anymore. Truth be told, she now realized that she only wanted the fox out of her way, so that _she_ could do her job as a carnivore catcher… That selfish plan did not work out well, however. And now she had to pay for it.

"I'm sorry, sir…" she whispered finally, hanging her head. "I abused my authority. I was just trying to protect the city…"

"The city? Or your _job_?" Bogo retorted coldly, piercing her with an accusatory stare. "One way or the other, I'm afraid you've failed."

He then grabbed his cane with his left paw, and, extending his right one toward her, said:

" _Badge._ "

This was a sight Judy had already seen before… And it made her feel just as desperate as years ago. She wished that Nick would be there by her side, and use his wits in order to save her yet again. But she had taken his badge away herself just days earlier.

Tears almost appearing in her eyes, the rabbit removed her lieutenant's golden emblem from her chest, and gave it to the police chief.

"Does this mean that you're dismissing me… sir?" she inquired sadly with a shaky voice, afraid of what the answer would be.

Bogo sighed, as if completely tired of the rabbit's ridiculous behavior.

" _Dismissing you_? Of course not! I'm not as careless as you are!" he stated, putting Judy's badge in his pocket, and taking out another one. "I'm merely degrading you. I expect you to be back on the streets, doing your job, right after the morning briefing. _Officer_ Hopps!"

He then put her old badge on the desk- the same one she received right after graduating from the Police Academy.

Gasping in joy, the rabbit grabbed the item set before her, pressing it against her heart.

"Oh _thank you,_ sir! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she hopped up and down, laughing. "I won't fail you this time, I promise!"

Bogo rolled his eyes…

"You are weird, do you know that?" he uttered in exasperation. "If there was a paragraph in the Police Code forbidding it, I would have indeed been forced to send you back to the carrot farms!"

"You have my gratitude, sir!" she saluted him, containing her emotions. "May I ask how you plan to deal with the reptiles now that you're in charge of the case again?"

For a second, Bogo remained speechless, only narrowing his eyes. Then, reaching out and removing the golden bar insignia from the shoulders of the officer who stood before him to attention, he said:

"No. You may not. I am taking you off that case, and I forbid you to have anything to do with carnivores anymore. I think enough harm has already been done. You can get it out of your mind, this does not concern you, nor officer Wilde, when he comes back, any longer. Both of you are going to be reassigned to other tasks, which require much less responsibility."

When Judy was fully stripped of her rank, feeling awfully embarrassed, she looked at her new badge, deciding to do continue to do her best… although losing the rank of lieutenant was a heavy blow for her.

"You are dismissed," her boss then said to her. "I'll have Clawhauser remove your name from the office door. I expect to see you at the briefing, at your old spot."

Nodding sadly, the rabbit began walking toward the exit. But then Bogo called her again.

"Aren't you forgetting about something, officer Hopps?"

Turning around, she gazed at him, perplexed.

"Your _latte_!" the buffalo hissed, clenching his paw on the handle of his cane.

Judy grabbed her coffee and ran out of the room as if he was about to spank her with it.

Walking down the corridor, she felt the fear of meeting her colleagues again, no longer her underlings, grow rapidly in her heart…

 _I should have raided the reptile's house myself instead of sending that clumsy horse!_ she concluded, taking a sip from the cup she was holding and tapping the floor with her foot.

* * *

 **AN: Ooh, the buffalo's back as chief of the ZPD! And Judy's back to the streets… If there's one thing she hates more than Nick's antics, it's failure.**

 **But now that she's off the case, will Bogo have more luck in dealing with the carnies? He doesn't seem to believe in the whole reptile deal… Too bad for Nick, who's still down in the sewers alone with them, without anyone even knowing about it!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Nick had desperately been looking for an opportunity to escape from the dark, damp factory of death deep underneath Zootopia. But because he was a 'blooded apprentice', as the reptiles referred to him, he was under constant surveillance.

He spent his nights restlessly in the sleeping quarters, rolling on the grisly pelts which the herps used as bedding, constantly observing Ra, his mentor and guard. Although the serpent did sleep at times, he did so with his eyes covered only by his filmy horizontal eyelid through which he could see, sampling the air from time to time with his tongue, indicating to Nick that he would attack as soon as his pupil attempted to make a run for it.

This de facto imprisonment was driving the fox insane. In his rare moments of clarity, he thought longingly of Scarlet, and even about Judy… Both of his friends were so far away right now, so inaccessible, almost as if they were in a completely different world…

He hated himself for the carnivorism he'd fully given into, which he could do nothing about, even if he tried. At this point, he'd basically become a ravenous, wild beast, indistinguishable from those around him, proving to anyone who had ever feared or loathed him for being a predator, that they were right. This fact turned his stay at the Dragon's lair into a hell on earth, even if he was much more free there than he had been at _Butcher's Den_ , and the unbearable hunger he'd felt for months was always satisfied.

Moreover, he constantly had to restrain himself from strangling Rufus Links, his fellow apprentice, in his sleep...

One morning, Ra told Nick that the 'Massster' wished to speak with him again. The fox therefore followed his python tutor to the chamber beyond the curtain. As they were walking through the candle-lit underground corridors, he noticed that, in one of the chambers, there were two crocodiles, fighting one another.

"What're they doing?" inquired the surprised apprentice.

"Oh nothing," Ra responded casually. "Just sssparring to ssstay in shape."

The serpent continued to creep forth. But after a few moments of silence, as he was quite a facetious fellow for being a murderer, unlike the crocs, he began to hum silently.

" _Wild thing. You make my heart sing. You make everything groovy, wild thing. Wild thing, I think I love you, but I wanna know for sure. Come on and hold me tight…"_

Nick only wished that these words did not refer to him… Not only because Wilde was his true name, but also because he still wasn't able to make out whether Ra was a male, or a female...

As that was a very awkward question, the fox decided to ask about something else.

"How come you don't have a Scaledonian accent?" he inquired once the reptile was done singing.

"Why, I wasss hatched right here in the city!" the snake responded with what could have been his version of a chuckle. "I'm a Zootopian jussst as much as you are!"

Nick found that rather hard to accept. But, without further hesitation, he followed the python to the Dragon's domain.

The monitor lay on his furs resting and licking his lips, the gore and bones of a fresh meal scattered around. When Ra and Nick stood before him, the snake hissed:

"You've sssumoned us, Massster."

For a long while, the Dragon said nothing. He just continued to observe the mammal closely. Nick had been straining to convince himself that this overgrown lizard was a herp no different than the others… but each time he set his golden-black eyes at the fox, he couldn't help but shudder. There was something odd about this strange beast… something that Nick could not describe in other terms than _evil_ and _demonic_.

"Sit," the varanid ordered him finally.

Obeying him, Nick sat down on his rump, supporting himself with his front paws, a bit taken aback by the fact that he was thus forced to soil his bare fur with the grime on the chamber floor.

The Dragon, continuing to lounge comfortably, sampled the air with his tongue a couple more times. Then he uttered, glaring at the mammal before him curiously:

" _When the stars threw down their spears, and water'd heaven with their tears, did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?"_

Nick was greatly confused by the reptile speaking to him in verse… He'd much rather prefer if the inhabitants of this lair spoke like regular people, as he was having difficulty staying focused. But, in these circumstances, that was probably too much of a demand.

Seeing the perplexity in his interlocutor's eyes, the Dragon continued with a more normal, yet still quite surprising, question.

"You are a Catholic, aren't you?"

The fox wrinkled his brow.

"How do you know that, Lizard King?" he inquired, seriously freaked out.

Again, the monitor's long forked tongue ejected from his mouth, whipping the air.

"I smell the mark of the Lamb on your forehead," he bellowed mysteriously.

The Dragon then did something Nick did not expect. Namely, he arose from his pelts, and stood on his hind legs. His massive scaly body towered over the fox, frightening him even more with its height, which was more than twice his own.

The monitor stood before the petrified mammal, his heavy tail having created a trail in the sand behind him. Bending down, he passed to Nick something the mammal recognized as a dried piece of sheepskin… a sheet of parchment.

Trembling with terror and disgust, he took the item from the Dragon's paw. The reptile then returned to his spot, lying back down on the ground heavily.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked the fox.

Straining to see anything in the dim light of the tallow candles, Nick was barely able to recognize the words written on the parchment. And they were:

 _As we stand together with eyes undimmed_

 _not driven by hunger or fear_

 _as equal beings without urge to kill, chase or flee_

 _but only to walk simply as_

 _ANIMAL_

 _we declare that hunter and prey_

 _exist among us no more._

"This is the preamble of the Zootopia Constitution," he stated.

The Dragon moaned in response, as if in a mocking chuckle.

"Yes… your precious Constitution. Did you know that it is, in fact, based on Christian values?"

"No, I didn't realize that…" Nick mumbled.

"Ah yes. Your enlightened fellow mammals would never agree to that now, of course _. Love thy neighbor. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not eat the flesh of another animal…_ Those fools think they came up with all of that themselves. But if the Bible hadn't taught them that, prey and predators wouldn't be living in skyscrapers together, but in forests and burrows in the ground, eating one another. Now, they want to create a Garden of Eden here, on this earth, right above our heads. But _we_ do not want to go back to the Garden of Eden. We've left it for a reason. Zootopia, however, is no Eden. It's just what its name signifies- a utopia, a fable. Do you understand what I am saying?"

The fox tried hard to keep up with the Dragon's discourse, as any wrong answer could cost him his life. He found that some of the elements of the draconists' twisted philosophy corresponded to what the Butcher had once told him, though it seemed to even go a step further. His brain was in such turmoil, however, that he really had trouble putting together a single coherent sentence.

"Why would anyone want to leave the Garden of Eden?" he instead responded with another question.

The Dragon jeered, seeing his confusion.

"Oh, but you know that already! _Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?_ " the reptile offered him another quotation.

"Not of _every_ tree… only the forbidden one," Nick corrected him, being able to recall at least bits and pieces of what he'd learned in catechism class years ago.

"Ah, but the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, isn't it?" the Dragon continued sarcastically, referring to something both of the carnivores knew well. "And why should there be any limitations at all? I've seen what it leads to. I've been to your city. All the new restrictions they've created- _no howling, no roaring, no gekkering… no preds allowed_. Zootopia looks down upon those who would as much as groom their fur publically. Wouldn't you agree that it is a place where only prey feel safe, where they are the ones who set all the rules? Isn't that why you ran away, and joined us down here, in the underground?"

"Yes…" agreed the fox.

"Well, you chose wisely, then," the monitor commended him. "Look behind you."

Happy that his act was working, though still feeling terribly insecure, Nick followed the reptile's direction. He then saw something he had not noticed before- words painted above the curtain of the cave entrance. Although he did not understand what they meant, their sight made him feel sick to the stomach… as the letters were written in blood.

 _FAC QVOD VIS TOTA LEX ERIT_

As the fox continued to gaze at the cryptic sentence, the Dragon went on with his explanation.

"Even in _Butcher's Den_ , as you remember, there had been a decalogue of rules. But that place was a mere foretaste- a preparation for true liberty, adapted to the weak minds of those coming from Zootopian society. Down here, however, those rules do not apply. Down here, we believe in _complete_ liberty."

Nick then felt Ra creeping up to his side.

"The words above the portal mean, _Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law_ ," explained the snake.

His fur not ceasing to bristle, the fox then turned back to the Dragon, who went on with his preaching.

"What hypocrites they are, the narrow-minded founders the utopian city above us!" cried the reptile, his voice filling the chamber up to its ceiling. "Whom do they carry their burdens for? _God?_ Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives animals... instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do? I swear, for his own amusement... He sets the rules in opposition! _Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, but don't swallow._ And while you're jumping from one foot to the next, what is He doing? _Laughing you in the snout!_ The sadist! The absentee landlord! Worship _that_? Never!"

" _Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven_ , is that it?" Nick offered his own quote this time, slowly realizing that, in fact, this herp he was speaking to was either completely insane, or possessed by something too terrible to even imagine.

"Why not?" the monitor responded. "We have been here, on this earth, with our noses in it since the whole thing began! Way earlier than all of you furry weaklings! We've secretly nurtured every sensation you have been inspired to have. We cared about what you wanted, and we never judged you. Why? Because we never rejected you, the predators, in spite of all your imperfections, like the prey animals have! In fact, _we_ are your greatest friends. Right now, all the taboos are being rejected, except for the one of carnivorism, which concerns only _you_. But we wish to teach you about the triumph of instinct. Establish the reign of the will. Why, you ask? For power? No, not for that. Only for _freedom_. Only for _fairness_ ' sake. Because nature, though cruel, is always fair. And we are all wild at heart! We- all of us!- are born feral! Those who embrace that keep the prey population at bay. If it weren't for _us_ , they would have flooded you already. This is why there will always be carnivores- because _there have to_ be carnivores!"

When the Dragon was done speaking, all Nick could do was to sigh.

"Yes," he mumbled absentmindedly. "Oscar Fangley taught us the same thing. The restoration of the natural order…"

"Do you believe in that?" the great reptile asked him, standing up. "Do you wish to free yourself from your bonds, like we have?"

Almost drowning in the depth of the Dragon's eyes, wishing that this whole grotesque show could finally be over, Nick nodded.

"Yes. Yes I do," he spoke, no longer capable to estimate whether he was lying, or not.

The monitor then came up to him, and gave him the parchment with the Zootopia Constitution.

"Then burn it," ordered the Lizard King.

Taking the sheet from the reptile's paw, Nick came up to one of the tall candlesticks in the corner, and lifting it, let the flames touch the edge of the parchment.

As the document became consumed by the fire which glow reflected in Nick, Ra and the Dragon's eyes, the latter reptile addressed the mammal, whispering:

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

The smoke from the burning sheepskin permeated the air. The fox wished that he could have something to drink right now, as his parched mouth was filled with an aftertaste of blood.

* * *

 **AN: Thus, the Dragon reveals to Nick the draconists' ideology, and the reasons why the reptiles wish to overthrow Zootopia. But is that just all the babble of a deranged beast, or the creation of a true evil intellect?**

 **I used many sources here, many quotations coming from the movie** _ **The Devil's Advocate**_ **. But the draconists also confess elements of Crowleyan esoterism and Nitzschean philosophy, use Freemasonic hierarchy, Nazi rhetoric, and Lovecraftian poetry. Apart from what in our universe is called Satanism- a mix of the Laveyan and Theistic branches, to be precise. In short, it's pure evil, only translated into the realm of the animal world.**

 **But… is Nick, a Zootopian and a cop, actually beginning to** _ **believe**_ **in all of that? One thing's for sure- he needs someone to save his dyed butt. Not just from the draconists, but also from himself.  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Soundtrack for this chapter- Edvard Grieg,** _ **In the Hall of the Mountain King**_ **.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

It was just her luck that the first day of her service as an officer after her degradation was to be the one Zootopia got its first snow…

Standing on the side of one of the main streets of Savannah Central, dressed in her bullet-proof vest and with a tonfa at her side, Judy was trying hard not to shiver. She was having a hard time, though, as her ZPD winter trooper hat was not exactly designed for rabbits, and left her ears dangling more than half-length out in the cold.

Her assignment was to stand guard during a peaceful downtown rally along with her fellow officers, which was a task as routine as it was boring. She felt terribly uncomfortable and embarrassed, and was sure that the other cops would be making fun of her for having been de-ranked by Chief Bogo… and perhaps even want to retaliate for how harshly she had treated them while still a lieutenant. She just wished she could go back to catching reptiles…

Fortunately, the officer who was assigned as her partner that day, Wolfard, was more interested with texting on his phone than taunting her. He'd developed a close relationship with the she-wolf he'd met in one of the naturalist clubs they'd been working at, and his girlfriend was occupying his attention at the moment much more than the event they were supposed to be overseeing. Judy knew she would normally be obliged to rebuke him for his negligence, but in her case, she felt way too awkward to be in any position to do that.

The rally was, thankfully, fairly uneventful. Actually, officer Hopps was amazed by the fact that, after many weeks of fighting against each other, the preds and herbies of Zootopia actually managed to come together again. The reason may have been that, since the disappearances concerned both prey and predators, all mammals now felt equally insecure, fear being the factor which now united them.

The herds were standing in the cold, breathing out steam, listening to a speech delivered by councilor Swinton- a popular Zootopian politician, the female pig who basically took the care of the people into her own cloven hooves after the lion mayor basically bailed out. At this point, many animals were carrying signs and wearing buttons which read _Swinton for mayor_.

Judy, however, did not listen to the hog's undoubtedly inspiring speech. She was too concerned with her gloomy thoughts, as well as with freezing her cotton tail off. Even her fur seemed to be failing her right now. It also annoyed her that officer Wolfard was having a great time, chuckling repeatedly as he read the messages he received from his significant other.

After the speech, the gathered Zootopians did something very unexpected- namely, whether they were prey or predators, they held each other's paws, and started singing _Kumbaya_. Some of them held lit candles to commemorate their missing friends and relatives. She only wished that Nick could be there to witness that.

As she observed the truly heartwarming scene, the rabbit cop noticed that not all animals were singing, however. A bunch of herbivores, led by an arctic hare, were busy with unfolding a huge sign with the emblem of the _Silver Clover_ , which had on it the words 'Tame collars for all preds'.

"Wolfard!" Judy spoke to her new partner, concerned. "Put your phone away for a second and check that out!"

"Huh?" the wolf glared down at her from behind the device, and then looked in the direction to which the rabbit was pointing. "Oh, now I see! Those darn herb… _uhm_ , I mean… those darn troublemakers, trying to disturb a peaceful gathering! Well, we better go get 'em. You gonna be okay making your way through the crowd, Carrots?"

" _Don't call me Carrots!_ " she scowled at him, causing him to grin.

Then, without further ado, she hopped over the railing on the sidewalk, and started pushing through the huge herd of various animals, most of whom were much larger than her.

"ZPD! Step aside, please!" she yelled, though some of the bigger mammals seemed not to have heard the short rabbit cop, and Wolfard quickly caught up with her.

"Lemme try," offered the lupine. Then, lifting his head, he issued a forceful howl.

" _A-WOOOO!_ ZPD! Make way!" his scream echoed from the buildings above the crowd, several other wolves from the rally answering it at once.

Now the startled animals moved much faster. Within moments, the two officers had a clear path, which led them straight to the prey supremacist protestors.

Wolfard bared his fangs in a grin yet again, making Judy groan in exasperation… She was glad he didn't say anything.

A bunch of predators have already gathered round the sign. They and the members of the _Silver Clover_ kept eyeing each other begrudgingly, indicating that there may be trouble.

"Alright, what's going on over here?" asked Wolfard.

"It's good you came, officer!" a bear addressed the wolf alone, as if Judy weren't even there. "These herbie lunatics are spreading speciesist hatred all over again!"

"That's a rotten _lie!_ " answered the arctic hare, stamping the sidewalk with his foot and kicking up a cloud of fresh snow.

Judy stood face to face with him, putting her paw on her club warningly. He kind of reminded her of her ex-boyfriend.

"We're gonna have to ask you to take down that sign," she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

The dogged herbivore clenched his fists…

" _Traitor!_ Haven't you ever heard of freedom of speech?!" he hissed.

Judy was about to answer, but then she felt someone's paw on her shoulder, pulling her away.

"Let me take care of this, officer Hopps," said Wolfard, approaching the prey supremacists with an expression of anger and authority. " _You!_ Get rid of that sign! Did you hear me, or are those long ears of yours frozen solid?!"

The hare, almost frothing at the mouth, gnashed his teeth for one more moment. Then, defeated, he turned to his colleagues.

"You heard the cops, guys! Take her down."

As the other herbivores obeyed their leader's command, he still turned toward the two officers with a final threat.

"When councilor Swinton is mayor, you won't be free to do stuff like this anymore, _chomper_!"

The protesters quickly dispersed, leaving Judy on the sidewalk alone with Wolfard.

"Well, that's the first time anyone has ever called me a _chomper_ …" the rabbit mumbled bitterly.

Seeing the grim expression on her face, the wolf laughed out loud.

" _Heh-heh!_ I think they only had me in mind. Hey, keep those ears up, Judy! Here, have a donut."

Not having the slightest idea where Wolfard got the pastry, she gladly accepted it, as her fellow officer's sign of comradery actually improved her mood a bit.

" _Heh,_ thanks… Gotta keep up the stereotypes, don't we?"

They weren't able to finish eating in peace, however.

"Lieutenant Hopps! _Lieutenant Hopps!_ " a voice screaming her name made her turn around, suddenly. She instinctively wiped the powdered sugar from her mouth as she saw two ZNN reporters, one holding a camera, and another grasping a microphone.

"Lieutenant Hopps," the camel journalist, dressed in a thick parka, panted, having apparently rampaged through the crown as soon as he saw the rabbit cop. "Would you be willing to answer a few questions? Is it true that the ones responsible for all the disappearances around Zootopia are really the reptiles living in the city? What actions is the ZPD taking in order to stop them?"

The reporter's hastily posted inquiries, as well as his microphone almost hitting her on the nose, completely surprised Judy.

"I… am no longer a lieutenant…" she was only able to mumble awkwardly, her mouth full of donut. She had to remember that Chief Bogo forbade her to have anything to do with that case anymore.

The startled camel hesitated for a while, but then said:

"Could you explain to us the reasons of your degradation, in that case?"

This whole situation was seriously starting to get on the rabbit's nerves. The fact that the rumors had already reached the press was bad enough, and she wanted to have no part in enkindling them even more. Scowling at the camera, she thus pulled out her billy club.

"I will not say _anything_ to you! Now get out of here!" she demanded.

Both the ZNN animals took a step back at first… but then the one with the microphone crossed his arms with a chuckle.

"Surely you do not intend to harm an employee of the free press, _officer_?" he jeered. "After all, the camera's rolling…"

"I'd listen to her if I were you," Wolfard advised them, taking a sip of coffee.

When Judy saw that the reporters didn't intend to budge, making a sudden high jump, she swung her tonfa… striking right at the camera's off switch. The device instantly went dead.

" _Hey!_ What gives?!" grumbled the gnu who was holding it.

Falling down on the snowy sidewalk softly, officer Hopps fastened her club, demonstrating a smug grin.

"Move along…" her male partner said to the disappointed journalists, waving his paw.

Judy was then finally able to warm herself with a cup of coffee. The rest of the rally went peacefully, and before evening fell, her and Wolfard returned to the station. There they said their goodbyes to the rest of the squad, and headed home for the night.

When the rabbit got into her car, she estimated that working with the wolf who had until recently served under her, wasn't as bad as she initially thought it would be. She did miss Nick, however, and now understood perfectly that suspending him was a mistake…

Hesitating to start the engine, she reached for her phone, instead, and dialed the fox's number.

 _The person you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time, please try your call later_ \- was the only thing she heard.

That was odd. Nick hardly ever had his phone turned off during the day. She just hoped he wasn't feeling depressed again because of being suspended… That could've meant that he began drinking again. Or worse.

Judy didn't really want to drive around Zootopia that much after her assassination attempt. But, for some reason, she felt that she just had to check on her partner. If he was home, she owed him a big apology.

Seeing that it was already dark outside, she decided to drive over to the fox's apartment… _carefully_. Exiting her car, she double-checked the straps on her vest, as well as the club at her belt, and her gun in its holster.

The snowing had stopped, it was silent and cold, and there was no one around. She entered the building hastily, and made her way up the stairs. When she stood in front of her partner's door, she hesitated a bit, remembering that her last visit didn't exactly end well… But then, taking a deep breath, she knocked.

And no one answered. Even when she tried again and again, there was no response. Deciding to make use of her excellent rabbit sense of hearing, she lifted an ear… but all the sounds she heard came from other apartments.

Nick simply wasn't home, it was obvious. She could only guess where he'd gone, however.

Walking out into the snowy street once again, she hurried her steps, wishing she could return to her own little burrow as soon as possible. She needed to get a good night of sleep before her next day of work, which would undoubtedly be as productive as that one.

She then heard something strange, though.

" _Judy…"_ someone whispered her name, and it seemed like the sound came from a nearby alley.

It was so silent the rabbit almost thought that she was hearing things. Turning around, looking toward the narrow, dark passage between buildings, she bit her lip, feeling torn between the concern for her own life, and her duty as an officer…

Finally, her professional attitude won. Slowly pacing forward, her paw hovering low above her holster, Judy entered the shade of the alley…

… only to find nothing but trash cans and piles of snow.

 _Hmf! My head must be out in the cold too much…_ she said to herself.

She made a quick heel turn, shaking off the concern, and began walking over to her car.

What happened afterward must have not taken longer than a second.

First, Judy felt a piercing pain in her left foot. Something jerked her whole body so strongly that the world around her turned upside-down, and she found herself on the ground before she was even able to issue a single yelp. Then, that same force started pulling her backward…

It was at this moment that she screamed. Especially that, unable to resist, she realized _something_ was taking her with it, and dragging her underground.

It must have been one of the sewers in the alley. She realized that as soon as everything around her became dark, and she fell several feet down, painfully colliding with a wet, stinky pavement.

Rolling over with a groan, she gazed at her attacker… and gasped in horror as she beheld a five-foot tall, bulky mass of muscles and scales, baring two rows of needle-sharp fangs right before her very eyes. Fangs which were already covered with her blood.

It was an alligator, completely nude and completely savage. And he was furious.

Almost automatically, Judy reached for her club with her left paw. The reptile immediately lunged to grabbed her, immobilizing the limb with a grisly bellow.

But that was exactly what she wanted him to do.

Grabbing her revolver with her other paw, she put the barrel right against the alligator's throat, and pulled the trigger without batting an eye.

* * *

 **AN:** _ **The most merciful thing in the world is, I think, that the mind is unable to connect and link all the disparate pieces of things that we know, and thus learn of the horrors that lurk down below.**_

 **Judy may have failed in finding the reptiles, but that doesn't matter, as now, they finally found** _ **her.**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

During his stay in the Dragon's lair, Nick had heard noises which could drive any weak-minded animal insane. But the crazed bellows which resounded within the underground halls that day, made even Ra and the great monitor himself stiffen, gazing toward the curtain at the entrance to the chamber, awaiting what was about to emerge from beyond it.

Having witnessed monstrosities too many to recount, the fox had become numb and passive. In spite of that, what he saw then made him sober up again, a cold dread completely taking over his heart.

The curtain was violently ripped open by what seemed to be a shapeless body mass at first, screaming in utter rage. Nick had to strain his eyes to recognize what it actually was.

And it was a large alligator, carrying the dead corpse of another one, just as big as him. As soon as the beast walked in, he roared ferociously, and threw the bloodied carcass on the ground.

But that was not what frightened the fox the most. No, the most terrifying thing was that he _recognized_ the furious alligator- as before him stood councilor Allastor LaCoste, no longer wearing his green suit, and much more _emotional_ than he had been back at his ambassador's office.

Nick cringed, hiding in the farthest corner of the chamber…

"What has happened?" the Dragon asked his fellow reptile, standing up in concern.

Allastor's voice had in it no sorrow whatsoever, only unbridled fury.

"Quetzel's dead!" he screamed, stretching his arms over the corpse of the other alligator.

Nick noticed that the dead creature was bleeding profusely from a wound in his throat. It seemed to be a gunshot wound, and the bullet must have exited through the back of the animal's skull, slaying him instantly.

"Who did this?" the monitor, who apparently was Allastor's master as well, said much more calmly than his underling.

In response, the alligator growled, and then turned back toward the curtain.

" _Sentinel_!" he hissed, summoning the crocodile who must have been waiting outside.

Gnarlathotep also entered the chamber… and what he was carrying was even more terrible than the carcass which Allastor dragged in.

 _No… oh God, no…!_ Nick yelped silently.

True, he had indeed wished that he could see her again… but not like this. _Not like this._

The Sentinel marched into the room, carrying a gun in one paw, and the weapon's owner in the other. The fox quivering by the wall almost screamed when the reptile lifted up the body of officer Judy Hopps, in uniform, holding her by her long ears, and presented his prey before the Dragon like a trophy.

"Ah, the Butcher's doom. And in such frail flesh…" said the monitor, examining the rabbit. "Quetzel's sacrifice was not for nothing, it seems."

"That _coprophagous harelip_ shot my brother!" Allastor bellowed at him, immediately confronting his master. "I demand to see her _bleed!_ "

The Dragon, however, was unfazed.

"Leave the rabbit be, Grand Lizard. Her time has not yet come. Bring Quetzel's body to the slaughterhouse…"

This scene, though it completely petrified him, made Nick realize a few things. First of all, Judy apparently killed Allastor's brother. Second, Scaledonia's ambassador seemed to be of high rank also within the structures of the draconists. And all of the above was bad news, as it turned out that…

Officer Hopps was still alive. When Gnarlathotep cast her on the ground, she regained her consciousness, and began to groan painfully, attempting to figure out what was going on around her. Now, her bloodthirsty captors could take their vengeance on her. And do to her things which were worse than death.

"I demand justice!" the furious alligator, defying the order he received, continued to yell, causing the Dragon stand before him.

"My friend, have I ever disappointed you?" he said softly. "I understand your grief, but please, do not be rash in your actions. Behold! Our beloved guest is awake!"

That was true. As soon as the rabbit was able to open her eyes, and realized _where_ she was and _who_ was surrounding her, gasping in total horror, she instinctively hopped back, curling up against the nearest wall, shivering all over.

"Hello, Judith," the Dragon addressed her in his smooth voice, astonishing her with the fact that this incomprehensibly terrifying beast actually knew her name. "Do you realize that you are the greatest carnivore hunter in all of Zootopia? As well as, probably, the first herbivore to have ever slain a reptile…"

Judy did not even pay attention to what he was saying, however. Her nose twitching, she constantly moved her eyes from one nightmarish sight to the other- the huge reptiles before her, the bones scattered all over the chamber floor, the bloody writings on the walls…

There was but one thing she saw that gave her any sort of relief, even if noticing it came with a fair amount of shock. It was the naked, trembling sliver fox, who hid in the opposite corner of the room.

But when Nick saw her setting her sight at him, he flinched.

 _Don't speak to me… Please, don't say my real name!_ he begged her soundlessly, knowing full well that if she did so, both of them would soon meet a gruesome end.

Judy didn't even have to say anything, though. All of the reptiles eventually noticed the way she gazed at the fox. And then, they all looked his way themselves.

"I know you, _suckling_ …" hissed Allastor, making Nick turn his way with a yelp as the alligator approached him. "So you truly _are_ a carnivore, _Mr. Gekker_."

The poor fox was so frightened he couldn't even answer. The alligator then turned toward his master.

"Have this whelp devour the rabbit!" he demanded. "They are natural enemies, after all!"

A ring of iron suddenly constricted Nick's guts… The situation became desperate. When he directed his eyes at the female who had once been his partner, he saw her sob, tears wetting the grey fur of her cheeks.

For the past days, he'd observed the slaughter of innocents without saying a word. He had to, or else he himself would have been instantly put to death. The success of his plan depended on it, if he ever was to walk out of these tunnels alive, and tell the world of the monsters that lived here…

But in order to do that, he himself needed to kill. He himself needed to become a monster.

He noticed Ra, his tutor, slithering up to his side.

"Well? What does the foxsss say?" the snake whispered to him.

He knew what had to be done. This nightmare, which had begun back in _Butcher's Den_ , had lasted long enough.

Using all the strength he had left in him, he strained his muscles. Standing on his hind legs, he glared at the reptiles gathered around him, and stammered:

"M-my name is not Robin Gekker. I'm officer Nick Wilde. And I will _not_ let you harm that rabbit!"

It was his death sentence. And he signed it happily. Him and Judy shared a look which, though desperate, was one of friendship.

At once, he felt the python by his side attack, wrapping him in the coils of his massive body, immobilizing him completely. Nick didn't even resist, as there was no use for that anymore.

He then heard a sound that surprised him. Namely, the Dragon began to laugh mockingly, although the fox had thought that, in his case, it was impossible. The herp began to speak with a twisted, warped voice, which was very unlike the one he usually used.

" _Hahaha!_ _Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines, for our vineyard hath flourished!_ You are not Robin Gekker, indeed! _Nicholas Piberius Wilde_ , former lieutenant, and the closest accomplice of Judith Laverne Hopps in the undoing of both _Butcher's Den_ , and the carnivores' existence in all of Zootopia!"

The monitor then ran up to the helpless prisoner, making him quiver.

"Did you think you were on to us? You fool! In truth, we were always one step ahead. Everyone knows how much of a trickster you are, Nicholas. But we are an ancient race, older than you furry milk-suckers. And more clever than you think. After all, in the beginning, it was the serpent who _was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made_ , not the fox!"

Now all the reptiles were sneering at him, proving to the hopeless mammal that, all this time, he'd indeed been a fool… His grand plan, the sacrifices he made… it was all for nothing. The herps must have been observing both him and Judy for a long time, just as Mathilda had suggested.

The Dragon, rapt in triumphant exultation, then addressed both of his prisoners.

"Can't you remember what Butcher told you before he died? You have won nothing. And now, you will lose _everything_!"

He confronted Allastor next.

"Grand Lizard, I agree to your assessment that your brother's unfortunate death demands retaliation. However, you do know that we have other plans for Judith. Still, spilt blood does cry out for vengeance, doesn't it? These two sucklings are close friends. The predator even stood up to defend the prey animal, which to me is an almost unfathomable sacrifice. But after all, he is a Catholic. The idea of sacrifice must be very familiar to him."

Both reptiles then turned to look at Nick. Also the gaze he received from Ra, who was still holding him tightly, sent a shiver down his spine…

"Therefore, let the fox's blood be the sacrifice offered as substitute for that of the rabbit!" ordered the Dragon.

"NO!" Judy jumped up from the corner in an attempt to stop them, but was immediately intercepted by Gnarlathotep. The Sentinel threw her against the wall, and then started beating her with powerful swings of his huge paws, again and again, until the rabbit couldn't move anymore.

"What is your bidding, Master?" Allastor then asked the Dragon.

Nick looked at both of them, shuddering helplessly… but all he received in response were scowls of complete disdain.

The great monitor raised his scaly arm, pointing at the captive fox with a curved talon.

"Bite this one's tail off."

After that cruel command was issued, cries of horror and pain quickly filled the chamber up to the very ceiling. The alligator crept forward with a low rumble...

"Oh, what wonders we have to show you!" continued the Dragon, mocking both of his mammal prisoners, his voice drunk with bloodlust. "This trinket of sensation you feel now will be a _delight_ compared to the onslaught of agony that awaits you here!"

* * *

 **AN: _Ouch!_**

 **There are animated foxes with plenty of tails (Vulpix), two tails (Miles Prower), or just one (Fox McCloud). Nick, because he wanted to stand up for Judy, is going to be the first one with _no_ tail. **

**But are the two mammal cops, now finally re-united, gonna survive this scaly captivity at all?**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Soundtrack- Rammstein,** _ **Mein Teil**_ **. You can watch the video to get yourself in the right mood… if you dare.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

Allastor cast Nick's limp body into the prison cell like a rag doll. Snorting with disdain, he then slammed the rusty metal door, and departed.

The fox had become a wretch of an animal, yielding to the beasts he had once tried to fight. Now, he hated them for that, and for everything else. Lifting from the dirty floor, aching all over, he roared in fury and pain.

" _ARRRGH!_ SHIT! You yiffing herps! My _tail_! What've you done to my beautiful tail?! _Rrrah…_!"

Rolling over to his back, his paw shaking, he carefully touched what was now the stub of his once handsome brush.

If there was anything fortunate about his situation, it was the fact that, when Allastor attempted to execute his master's gruesome order, most of Nick's tail was tucked in between the coils of Ra's body. The alligator was therefore unable to chew all of it off… but he did remove its white tip, which consisted of two or three caudal vertebrae. And that was painful enough.

Nick yelped, looking at the still-bleeding stub… The pain was almost unbearable, though just enough to leave him conscious. Unfortunately. He now understood that he experienced a similar fate which must have befallen Mathilda Blacktail at some point.

He tried to dam the bleeding by squeezing the end of the stump with his fingers. However, not only did it greatly intensify his suffering, but after enough time he didn't have enough strength anymore, and had to let go. Soon, both his paws were covered in blood. There was no one around, he had no idea where the reptiles took Judy. Though he searched his cell as carefully as he was able to, he didn't find anything that could serve as a tourniquet.

Nick knew what this meant. He was no vet, but he understood that, if he didn't patch himself up somehow, he'd either die of blood loss, or get gangrene. Both of those options he decided he'd rather avoid, even if his future was most likely destined to be a grim one regardless. But he needed to survive. That conviction caused his natural instincts to take over.

There was only one thing he could do, and although he dreaded when he thought about it, he knew that he had to force himself. Still, he hesitated for a few minutes, until a large crimson puddle formed at his side. Only then did he stand up with a groan, straining every muscle in his body and all of the willpower he still had left in him.

His arm almost refused to obey the nerve impulses sent from his brain, but, standing on his toes, he was able to reach the tallow candle which blazed on top of a cast iron candelabrum on the wall.

He then sat down again, put the candle on the floor by his side, and gazed at the flame. His wound needed to be cauterized…

His breathing became heavy, and he was no longer able to control the spasms which overwhelmed his body.

 _Oh God… Why's this happening to me…?_ he asked in his heart, constantly gazing back and forth from the bleeding stub of his brush to the burning candle.

He squeezed as hard as he could to numb the pain, and clenched his fangs.

 _As soon as the fire fries my nerves, I won't feel anything anymore…_ he reassured himself with a fact he must have remembered from some action movie.

He then touched the end of his tail to the flame.

" _RRRAAAAH!"_

His painful howl resounded within the underground corridors as an electrifying wave of agony went through every nerve in his body. But he knew that he couldn't terminate the treatment immediately…

The pain did not diminish, but rather intensified to practically intolerable levels. Tears ran down the fox's cheeks, and he felt the stink of burning fur and roasted flesh. That sensation made him nauseous, and caused his sight to become blurred.

Before he knew it, he passed out, and everything around him became engulfed in a pitch-black void.

* * *

Images swirled in his mind so fast he wasn't even able to grasp a single one of them, his consciousness flashing on and off. Finally, the first thing he recognized was the distant sound of music.

The joyful notes of a guitar became louder and louder, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by the music. Animals of various species danced all around him. Confused at first, he finally recognized the place he was in- a source of joyful memories.

He was in downtown Zootopia, at a club called the Foxtrot. It was several months earlier, back when he could wear regular clothes, and when his fur was still red. Back in the time when he didn't have to hide. When he was still happy.

Before him stood Scarlet, his girlfriend. She wasn't wearing her punk disguise, but rather a sharp red dress, in which she looked simply dazzling. A smell of violets permeated the air.

The vixen approached him, and put her paw on his shoulder with a smile.

"Let's find out what you've leaned, Wilde child," she hummed.

Nick also offered her a grin, surrounding her with him arm.

"I may have had two left feet before I met _you_ ," whispered the fox, "but not anymore, Scarlet fever!"

Clinging to one another, each of the animals' tails wrapping around the other one tightly, they began to twirl through the dancefloor, following the rhythm, lost in the moment and the gaze of eachother's eyes.

Scarlet laughed, as if acknowledging her boyfriend's developing skills, mouthing the words of the song together with the singer as they danced along.

 _No one wants to stay at home, nobody wants to be alone! When you come knocking, I'll be at your door._

 _I don't ever wanna stop, I'm gonna give it all I've got. And when they ask me, "who could ask for more?"_

After a finesse pirouette, the couple held each other closer, almost feeling the beat of one another's hearts. It was as if they were all alone now, with no one else in the entire club.

"Kiss me," said the vixen.

Nick followed her request without hesitation, as the music boomed over their heads.

 _Can't stand still_

 _I won't slow down_

 _When I go out, I wanna go out dancing!_

 _Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah!_

 _I wanna go out dan-cing!_

They were now standing face to face, unable to cease gazing in eachother's eyes, blissful and high with passion.

The strobe lights in the club began to blink.

"Now it's _your_ turn!" the fox said to his girlfriend with a grin. Their lips met immediately.

When Nick opened his eyes, his partner began singing again. But the lights kept flashing, and he began having trouble recognizing Scarlet's face…

 _This is where I wanna be, with you, your arms wrapped around me, and fireworks reflecting in your eyes._

 _This is how I wanna feel, the wine, the kiss, the music reeling, getting down, riding all the highs…_

It was no longer her who sang. He was not dancing with Scarlet anymore, but with another fox. As the spotlight shone their way again, Nick suddenly found himself in the embrace of Oscar Fangley, who was not only completely naked, but also bleeding profusely from a bullet hole in his stomach.

"Kiss me, Nicholas…" the carnivore whispered, spilling blood all over the dancefloor.

In shock, Nick shut his eyes, turning away from the gruesome vision.

When he opened them again, he saw the Butcher once more. Only this time, the villanous fox was decked out in a fancy suit, sitting at a full table in some rich dining hall.

Nick himself was dressed in a uniform of the Junior Ranger Scouts. In the chairs at his sides, there sat animals he recognized as the members of _Butcher's Den-_ Robert Woodsworth the lynx, Brenda Huntswell the mountain lioness, Larry and Barry Arf, the twin Dobermann Pinschers… All wearing beautiful clothes.

On the surface of the set table, slaloming around the silver candleholders, there slithered Ra the snake. In his mellow, silky voice, he was singing the hypnotizing words of a song:

 _"Little bunny, bunny… you're ssso pretty and cute, and precioussss to me… I love you, your bunny fur is great. Oh beautiful bunny, come play…"_

When the python reached the platter atop of which the main course was displayed, he stopped and lifted his head, testing the air, looking toward Fangley.

" _The serpent deceived me, and I did eat_ ," Oscar said, addressing Nick.

He then reached toward the platter. On top of it there lay a skinned roasted rabbit, with only the head of the animal left intact. Nick immediately recognized from the dead animal's facial features that the body belonged to Judy.

The Butcher put a portion of meat on his plate, and picked up his fork and knife. Slicing off a piece, he put it in his mouth, and began to chew.

The bedazzled fox then heard Ra's silent hiss again.

"It'sss your turn, Nicholasss."

In a trance, Nick also took a piece of meat for himself. But when he was about to put it in his mouth, he saw that he was unable to do that, for some reason.

Suddenly, all the carnivores gathered at the feast began to laugh. Their wild chortles echoed within the dining hall like thundering ocean waves…

Dropping his fork, the terrified fox reached for his mouth. But what his finger touched, was not his skin, but the cold metal wire of a muzzle.

A frantic scream immediately issued from his throat, which sounded like the cry of a young kit. Completely terrified with his discovery, he ran away from the morbid feast, crying. But the carnivores' laughter kept following him until he slipped back into total darkness.

* * *

He woke up with a racing heart and, panting, immediately reached to his snout. There was no muzzle there. He was still in his cell, lying on the floor by a burnt out candle. The end of his tail pulsated, but the pain was far less intense than before. The bleeding had completely stopped.

Thanking God that what he saw was only a nightmare, the animal calmed down a bit. He then remained seated, listening, straining his eyes in the dark.

Though no sounds reached him, with the help of his night vision, he was able to notice that someone had brought something to his cell while he was asleep. In the corner, there lay a tanned pelt of some unfortunate animal, and by the door there stood two bowls- one with water, and the other one with some sort of food. Nick estimated that this probably meant that the reptiles wanted to keep him alive… at least for a time.

Feeling completely drained, he strained himself to crawl over to where the food was. But when he saw that what was brought to him was a piece of meat, he turned from it, repulsed, despite of his ravenous hunger. He instead lapped up all the water from the bowl. Having none left to clean himself, he then tried to groom his grimy fur with his tongue, but was too tired and soon collapsed, exhausted.

He may have fallen asleep or not, he wasn't sure. The fact was that, at some point, he heard approaching pawsteps, and noticed a light shining outside. He wanted to turn his head to take a closer look…

… but wasn't able to as much as move a single muscle.

He could see, hear, and feel, but was otherwise completely paralyzed. As soon as he realized that, he felt seriously frightened, and began groaning and yelping in despair.

An animal he did not see then entered his cell, carrying a flashlight. It opened the door, having made sure that Nick would not escape, no matter how hard he wanted to do that.

Before the fox's eyes appeared Rufus Lynx, until recently his bobcat co-apprentice, wearing nothing but his fur.

"You're not pretending again, are you?" the feline said with a smirk, poking Nick in the side with a claw. "I see you didn't touch the meat. But that's not important. The Dragon also poisoned your water with his spit."

After such a grisly announcement, the fox attempted to scream, but all he was capable of was a muted mumble.

"Mmm… what… _what're you gonna do to me_?!"

Seeing the prisoner shake in agony and terror only caused Rufus to snort.

" _Puh!_ I won't do anything, pug-nose. It's not my duty. The herps, however…"

He didn't finish, and instead, with a demonic grin, went over to the corner of the cell. Nick attempted desperately to follow him with his eyes.

The bobcat grabbed the skin which lay there and, picking it up, presented it to the prisoner.

"Recognize _this_?" he jeered, directing the light of his flashlight at the pelt.

Nick yelped in horror, realizing that the fur was actually the flayed skin of another fox…

"I suppose you remember Lawrence Vulpine, the traitor from _Butcher's Den_?" Rufus continued coldly. "It took us some time to find his little burrow. The Dragon insisted that he should be taken alive. And I fully support that. I wish I could have been here when they skinned him… Too bad I was busy with going to my court hearings."

Now, Nick was basically crying. He gazed at the empty sockets of the pelt of an animal who had once saved both him and Judy from the clutches of the carnivores… Unfortunately, Lawrence was unable to save himself. Even though it was the ZPD's duty to protect him.

The paralyzed prisoner could only imagine how horrible the young fox's death must have been… and that his own was probably going to be no different.

"I don't know if the reptiles are going to flay you as well," continued the feline, "but one thing's for sure. When they're done with both your rabbit bitch friend and you, you'll both end up as crocodile feed.

Just like Mr. Vulpine."

The delight with which Rufus spoke those words put Nick on a whole new level of anguish…

"B-but… _carnivores don't eat other predators_!" he whimpered in despair.

The bobcat then chuckled, casting Lawrence's skin on the ground casually, crouching to look the prisoner in the eyes.

"Yeah, we may not have done that back in _Butcher's Den_ … But _Butcher's Den_ doesn't exist anymore. Now the herps are in charge, and by now you should know that they don't give a steaming bucket of lizard shit about _any_ rules! They'll eat you up like a fresh, sprinkled donut…"

After saying that, Rufus grasped Nick's brush, and jerked it forcefully. The frightened fox screamed in pain, unable to defend himself.

"Well, I see you burned the end of your tail!" the feline uttered mockingly. "It's almost as short as mine now! Well, I guess it'll do. C'mon, Firefox..."

The bobcat stood up and started walking, still holding on to the injured stump. As he began to drag the fox, Nick yelled uncontrollably, totally overcome with panic.

" _Shut up,_ you yiffing cop!" Rufus hissed at him, enraged.

He then let go of his tail and, bending down again, held the prisoner's slack head in his paws.

"You _deserve_ this, you hear?!" the feline yelled right in his terrified face. "For betraying your own kind! You're a pathetic piece of shit, not a predator, and you deserve _every last goddamn bit_ of what they're gonna do to you! _Do you understand?!_ "

The furious carnivore then rammed Nick's head against the pavement, once and then again, until the fox almost lost his consciousness. He afterwards grabbed his tail again, and continued to drag him through the floor.

* * *

Nick came to in the middle of the Dragon's chamber. It was dark, but he could sense the demonic creature's presence within. He wished that the dread could knock him out again… but his senses were still active in spite of his body being paralyzed.

The beastly reptile approached slowly, step by step, tasting the trembling mammal's scent in the air.

"B-Butcher had also tried t-to turn me to his s-side with torture…" stammered the fox, "… but he _failed_!"

He heard no answer to his final surge of defiance. Instead, the Dragon stood over his limp body, sniffing his fur. Shivers ran down Nick's spine as the creature touched him with his snout…

The voice he heard then was calm, yet outlandish and freaky, alien from that of other animals. And it spoke words of pure hatred.

" _Torture… Physical pain…_ Yes. I could, if I wished to, break every bone in your body right now. I could peel your furry skin off inch by inch, and show it to you before I would let you die… But your body is of little concern to me. We do not create martyrs here. Physical pain is… limited. What I want for you is to suffer _boundlessly_."

At this point, the fox could not think straight anymore… What could this _demon_ have in his deranged mind?!

 _"Oh God…"_ he yelped, crying in despair.

"Not even your God will be able to save you once we're done with you," uttered the Dragon. "In fact, once you face Him, we will make sure that He shall turn His luminous countenance away from you."

The reptile then lifted Nick's head with a paw, making him gaze in the golden-black void of his eyes.

"There is a torture greater than that of the body. A poison which paralyzes more than a varanid's saliva. It is distinct for each individual animal… But I know you, Nicholas. I've been observing you longer than you think. And I have discovered what you find to be the worst thing in the world."

The beast then bellowed so loudly that the sound of his voice echoed from the stone walls of the chamber high up toward the ceiling.

" _AND THERE SHALL BE WAILING, AND GNASHING OF TEETH!"_

At once, as if on signal, Allastor the Grand Lizard entered the chamber. What he held in his paws indeed caused the completely horrified fox to howl and grind his fangs…

... for the alligator brought with him a muzzle.

Nick realized that he would indeed prefer any kind of physical torture to _this_.

"Kill me! _Just kill me!_ Why are you doing this?!" he cried.

The Dragon bent over him again, and hissed:

"Because it amuses me... _you viviparous vermin!_ "

Allastor then began to fasten the muzzle on the wailing mammal's snout.

* * *

 **AN: This morbid chapter is inspired by the final pages of Orwell's book,** _ **1984**_ **.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Judy may have managed to blow one alligator's brains out, but she was no match for the other two reptiles. Beaten to unconsciousness, the rabbit barely understood what took place in the large underground chamber where she saw Nick again. But when Allastor LaCoste bit part of her partner's tail off, she knew perfectly that both of them were in _serious_ trouble.

She wanted to resist, she wanted to help the fox… but she was too hurt and too tired to match the huge herps' strength. They left her battered, and even though she had no broken bones, the most damage was done to her spirit. Though she struggled vigorously, the reptiles took everything away from her- her phone, her gun, her freedom, and even her clothes. After stripping the rabbit naked like some sort of a thing, they threw her in some damp prison cell which reminded her of the terrifying imprisonment at _Butcher's Den_ all over again.

As she curled up in a dark corner, her body and soul ached, and her mind became rapt by thoughts as black as the night. Nick was right all along. Oh, why didn't she believe him… Only now did she understand how self-absorbed and arrogant she'd been to her partner. But it was much too late.

 _Not too shabby, lieutenant Hopps_ … the femal officer thought to herself, her gallows humor the only thing preventing her from slipping into depression.

But Judy wasn't even able to maintain that for long. Her long ears and apt sense of hearing unfortunately made her catch all the sounds which echoed within these gruesome underground tunnels around her. And those sounds truly frightened her… She heard many animals moaning, sobbing, begging for help. Eventually, somewhere far away, she was able to recognize that one of those voices belonged to Nick. Her partner's cries were not like regular speech, however, but beastly vocalizations, similar to the ones she heard him make in _Butcher's Den_ , as he was on the brink insanity… It was obvious to her that the fox was being tortured. And that, eventually, the reptiles would also come for her.

She remained in a dark void of mental agony for what could have been many hours, barely able to stay conscious. Back in the cage where Oscar Fangley had put her, she had almost given up, at some point. But at least she had Nick by her side then. Right now, she was utterly alone, and had no idea if she would be able to hold on…

A voice woke her up which she didn't recognize at first. Turning her aching, tired eyes at the bars of her cell, she only saw the shape of some animal standing on the other side, and that it was not a reptile.

"Judy Hopps," the mammal spoke coldly. "I always wanted to meet the rabbit carnivore slayer. It's hard to believe that, because of you, over thirty of my friends are now dead… and around forty more behind bars. I myself would have shared the same fate, if I didn't have enough money to bribe the jury that judged me."

Straining her sight in the dark, the female was finally able to make out her visitor's facial features.

"You're Rufus Lynx…" she mumbled angrily. "So you _were_ a member of _Butcher's Den_!"

"Yes, I was," agreed the bobcat, "although we've never met when you were there yourself. Fortunately for me. On the day of Lawrence Vulpine's betrayal, I was at my office in Zootopia. I later had to spend months defending myself from _you_ and the ZPD… But as you were examining me, I was also watching you closely. And now, I am the winner."

Rufus then came closer to the cell door, grasping the bars and almost shoving his snout through them.

"You've lost, officer. You and your partner are in the Dragon's power now. And though you've managed to stop dozens of us, there are still _hundreds_ of carnivores hiding all over Zootopia, whom you will never even know of."

Judy couldn't tell if this crazy predator was saying the truth, or if he just wanted to taunt her. But she didn't care. It was true, she was probably as good as dead already. But what good would it do if she'd just let herself slip into depression right now? Her mission may have been a failure, but she didn't want to give the carnivores the satisfaction of having conquered her. Therefore, she redirected all of her grief and sorrow, and turned it into anger.

Standing up without fear or shame, she gazed into the bobcat's eyes.

"There may be hundreds of you, but Nick and I are not alone, either. Zootopia has almost _fifty million_ animals living there. Fifty million _sane_ animals, among whom are thousands of police officers. And all of them will _not_ let your madness spread!"

In response to her outburst, Rufus bared his fangs in a disdainful grin.

" _Madness?_ Oh officer Hopps, you don't know anything about madness… Let me show you how _sane_ the inhabitants of this city you love so much really are!"

Then, with a jeering laugh, the feline exited the cell, what greatly surprised the rabbit. Cocking up her ears, she listened carefully to estimate what the wicked predator was doing.

It seemed that Rufus went over to a nearby cell, opened the doors, and then started to walk back. How shocked was Judy when she saw that the animal whom the bobcat brought with him was actually…

… another cottontail rabbit.

The middle-aged male was tall and plump, and Judy had absolutely no idea why he was allowed to walk around the tunnels freely, or why he was following Rufus.

Embarrassed by the way the buck gazed at her as soon as he saw her, she once again crawled into her corner, hiding her nakedness.

Rufus then opened the door to her cage.

"Okay, rabbit. Just like we agreed. I'll be back in half an hour."

The buck entered the cell obediently… and permitted the feline to lock him inside.

"Thanks," he said with an awkward smile, making Judy's eyes go wide in complete astonishment.

Rufus then sent her another mocking grin, and departed.

The male cottontail, who also didn't have any clothes on, turned toward the trembling officer Hopps, and stretched out his paw.

"Hey there, playmate!" he said, his voice shaking with what must have been anxious anticipation of… something. "I'm Tim, I come from Deerbrooke County!"

The female could clearly sense that from his accent… but she did not appreciate him calling her 'playmate' in the least bit.

"Stay away!" she growled, still continuing to quiver in the corner.

Seeing that Judy was not too eager to shake his paw, the buck dropped his smile.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, missy…" he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

In spite of everything, the weird rabbit was not hostile. Therefore, Judy proceeded to ask him a few questions, hoping that, perhaps, he could help her in some way.

"Tim… Why're you here? Why haven't the reptiles killed you? Can you open the door? We could escape while Rufus is away…"

Listening to her disordered train of words made the buck laugh out loud, as if nothing unusual was happening.

" _Hahaha_! So many questions! Well, one thing's for sure- you an' I are pretty much gonners. This place is full o' them herps, and other carnies too. Heh-heh…"

Looking at him as if he were an idiot, Judy spoke with a note of anger in her voice.

"Well… why don't you help me get out, then?! What's wrong with you?!"

But the buck just kept on laughing like a maniac…

"Darlin', I didn't come all the way down 'ere just to run away!"

"What, you mean to tell me that you _came_ here? _On your own_?!" the female gasped, totally freaked out.

"Yup! Sure did!" Tim crossed his arms. "I know this probably sound weird to ya… But all my life, I was _fascinated_ with how nature works. Or at least with how it used to work. You know? When us bunnies, and other prey, had to run an' hide from all those predators who were trying to _eat_ us. Imagine livin' back in those times! Wouldn't _that_ be a thrill!"

There was absolutely nothing thrilling in what the male spoke about. Actually, his bizarre monologue only continued to creep Judy out with each new sentence…

"You know, I got about 130 siblings, not sure exactly," continued the cottontail. "Sometimes, I'm thinkin' to myself- dang, that's a lot! So many mouths to feed! I mean, I love my family, don't get me wrong. But, to tell you the truth, I always kinda wondered what it would be like to, you know… be _consumed_ by another animal."

Now Judy understood perfectly. The rabbit whom Rufus brought into her cell was completely insane.

"You... came here because… you _want_ to be eaten?" she asked him with a frown of utter disgust on her face.

The male's eyes lighted up.

"Yeah! That's right!" he waved his head, laughing. "Boy, am I excited!"

Indeed, he was. He was basically skipping up and down out of some sick form of excitement and _joy_.

"You deranged creep…" Judy hissed at him. "Every animal in the world feels a natural instinct to preserve his life. But you… you're just… _screwed up_! _That's_ what you are!"

Instantly, the buck dropped his grin. Pointing toward the female, he addressed her angrily.

"Hey, you've no right to judge me, okay? To each his own! Zootopia is a free city! There's a whole bunch of other mammals livin' here who think like me! Some of them have found the herps even earlier than I did. I hesitated at first… but tonight, it's my turn!"

The male became much more confident now, taking a step further toward Judy, who was still hiding from him in the corner.

"I'm _warning_ you!" she yelled.

"Ah, c'mon! We all only got hours to live, anyways!" the buck tried to convince her regardless of her utter loathing of him. "As the song goes- _you and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals_ …"

He thus made his intentions clear to the furious female. Clenching her teeth, she observed as he continued to move toward her…

"C'mon!" he waved his paw, smiling. "Get over here! I wanna feel your sweet scent! Dang, you pretty… Don't be afraid, girl. Promise I won't hurt ya. Lemme touch that chin o' yours…"

The look in his eyes and the sound of his lustful voice almost made Judy sick.

"Stay away! Or you'll be sorry!" she warned him one last time.

"Huh!" the buck grunted confidently. "What're ya gonna do? Nibble my bum?"

Tim had clearly been a farmer back home in Deerbrooke County, and his arms were big and muscular, for a rabbit. He therefore thought that he'd be able to overpower the smaller female.

But he was wrong.

As soon as he attempted to touch Judy's chin, mad as a March hare, she grabbed his arm and, ejecting from the ground suddenly, flipped him over her shoulder. When the buck groaned, as his body hit the ground with all its weight, officer Hopps crushed his ribcage with her knee. Afterwards, she forcefully twisted the animal's right forelimb, making it instantly pop out of its socket.

" _OOOOOWWW!"_ the totally shocked Tim howled in pain.

"Serves you right for assaulting a ZPD officer, you sick, filthy, deranged… _freak!_ " shrieked the furious female, applying even more pressure to the buck's dislocated shoulder, almost causing him to faint. "I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you knew it all, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny, isn't it?!"

Tim wailed and cried and cursed, but Judy was so mad with him she didn't let him go no matter how hard he begged.

Finally, the rabbit's yelling attracted Rufus, who barged into the room again.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" he roared, trying to fish the key out of the pouch he carried.

"Get 'er off! _Get 'er off!_ " Tim basically begged him, tears streaming down his face.

The bobcat then unlocked the door. At once, Judy let go of the aching male, and attempted to pounce at the feline…

But then Rufus pulled out a huge butcher knife, about as long as her leg, and almost touched her nose with its tip.

"Back up, rabbit stew! Against the wall!" he demanded.

Seeing that there was no chance of escape, Judy lifted her paws in the air, and reluctantly obeyed…

The bobcat then came up to Tim and, grabbing him by the ears, lifted him up from the ground. The cottontail yelped as his dislocated arm hung limply.

"Time's up," the predator announced to him.

In response, the male rabbit growled in angry disappointment.

" _ARGH!_ You promised she'd be compliant! And that there'd be _no pain!_ "

"I lied," Rufus said to him with a malicious grin. "All you herbies are just carrion, anyway."

He then turned toward the female.

"See you later, Judy. It's time for us to go. But don't worry- _your_ greatest torture is yet to come."

The bobcat then relocked the door, and departed.

Sinking to the floor, the relieved officer continued to listen to Tim's screams as Rufus dragged him down the corridor. It seemed that his unhealthy _phantasy_ was to be far less pleasant than he'd planned it to be...

She was happy to have gotten rid of the disgusting member of her species, even if she somehow knew it was wrong. But what she heard then quickly robbed her of all satisfaction.

It appeared as if the reptiles were indeed gathering for some sort of a meeting… and from what Tim had revealed to Judy, she knew that it was going to be a _feast_.

The sounds of reptile paws trotting on the stone pavement, with the rabbit's wails in the background, now caused her to feel a fear she could only compare to her worst moments spent in _Butcher's Den_. For once in her life, she regretted having such a precise sense of hearing.

The carnivores gathered together within a nearby chamber, bringing with them also a couple of lambs. The prey animals' cries were almost unbearable.

She then recognized the voice of Allastor, whom the others referred to as the 'Grand Lizard'. He powerfully bellowed out something in a language Judy did not understand.

" _In nomine patris nostri Draconi! Venite, filii Serpentis, adoremus dominum!_ "

The other reptiles answered him in a choir of voices.

" _ADSUUUMUUUS!"_

The more Judy listened, the more frightened she became. And the more she realized that this was no ordinary feast…

" _Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni!"_ yelled the Grand Lizard frantically, like the priest of some dark ritual.

The crying of the lambs and Tim's screams then rapidly intensified .

Now another voice resounded within the halls. Judy could recognize that it belonged to the one whom they called the Dragon… but it was different, somehow. More twisted and… _evil_.

" _I LIVE!"_ he boomed, his speech like the roar of some monster. "I, THE BEAST, THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EARTH!"

"Hail the Dragon!" Allastor addressed him. "Hail the one who has spilled the blood of the innocents throughout the whole world, and has given to us their flesh as food!"

"HAIL!" the reptile choir responded.

"What do you require of your kin, Master?" continued the Grand Lizard.

"KILL, MY CHILDREN, AND FEED!" ordered the Dragon. "WORSHIP ME WITH FIRE AND BLOOD! WORSHIP ME WITH CLAWS AND FANGS! LET MERCY BE NO MORE- CURSED BE THOSE WHO TAKE PITY! KILL AND TORTURE, DO NOT RELENT! RULE OVER THEM!"

For a few seconds, the prey animals screamed from the top of their voices…

"A sacrifice of innocent blood!" Allastor announced, as if giving the other herps his leave.

Slowly, the desperate cries were quenched, one by one. First, the one of the rabbit, then those of the lambs.

What followed were the sounds of bones breaking, torn meat, lapping tongues, and snapping mouths.

" _YES!_ FEED NOW, PROUD BROOD OF VIPERS! AND I SHALL FEAST ON THE FEAR OF THE LIVING!" the Dragon's voice echoed through the tunnels.

Judy curled up in her corner, sobbing...

* * *

 **AN: ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD! Coincidentally, I'm having rabbit for dinner tomorrow XD  
**

 **Also, Tim's character is inspired by the case of the German cannibal, Armin Meiwes. Again, look it up only if you dare.  
**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The sound of the rusty metal cell doors opening woke her up from her unsteady nap.

Flinching and crumbling against the wall, the female blinked with her tired eyes, trying to make out what was going on. She was able to catch the sight of a reptile, probably Allastor, who threw something behind the bars, quickly relocking the door after he did so, and leaving.

What the alligator left in the cell was, at first sight, nothing but a dirty ball of black fur. But Judy, feeling its scent, immediately realized that it was much more than that.

" _Nick!"_

The rabbit's gasp echoed within the stone walls. Springing from the corner, she ran up to her partner's body… but then hesitated.

The fox looked as if he were dead. Judy's heart froze when she realized that this first impression she had may in fact be true.

But then again, the reptiles probably wouldn't have thrown a dead corpse into a prison cell. _Would they?_

Stretching out a shivering paw, the rabbit touched the heap of fur carefully. The body was still warm, and in the dim light of the candle she eventually noticed Nick's ribcage moving as he breathed.

Relieved, trying desperately not to hurt him more than he already was, Judy rolled the fox over to his back. She could only imagine what their captors had done to him… By now, her fellow officer's screams resounded even in her dreams.

Upon closer examination, Nick didn't seem to have many open wounds, apart from his injured tail. But there was also something else. On both sides of his head, as well as his neck, he had deep gashes which were still bleeding. To her horror, she soon discovered that those wounds were self-inflicted.

Putting her paw on the fox's shoulder, Judy tried shaking him a bit to try to wake him up.

"Nick! _Nick!_ It's me, Judy! _Carrots_ , remember?"

When she did that, the tormented animal only groaned like a frightened kit at first. But when she applied a little more force, he came to, yelped, rolled up like an embryo with the stub of his tail tucked between his legs, and began scratching the sides of his neck with his claws, reopening the gashes and drawing even more blood.

 _My God, those beasts must have muzzled you!_ she realized to her great dismay, remembering that her friend was deathly afraid of muzzles- a phobia he carried from the time of his childhood.

The rabbit attempted to stop Nick from hurting himself, grabbing his wrists. That caused the fox to scream in even deeper anguish.

" _Shhh!_ " she calmed him, holding the frightened predator as if he were her baby. "It's alright! It's off already, see? There's nothing on your face anymore."

When Nick understood what she was trying to explain to him, he relaxed a bit, though his heart continued to race. The rabbit spoke to him again, trying to ease his shaking.

"It's me, Judy. Your partner. You saved my life, you know."

Suddenly, the fox opened his eyes, directing his green irises at the face of the animal who was holding him in her arms. At first, his pupils were as wide as saucers.

But then, all of a sudden, he began to laugh.

"Heh-heh… _HAHAHA_!"

The female could compare the sound Nick made was the chuckle of a madman. She only hoped that the reptiles' _treatment_ did not cause him to completely lose it…

"Judy? _Judy Hopps_?!" the predator asked her with a devilish grin on his face, letting her go and sitting by her side, on the floor. He afterwards began to stammer.

"Well, I'm… I'm, I'm, I'm _Nicholas Wilde_! A-and I, _Nicholas Wilde_ , promise t-to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy… even though I'm a f-fox. I'll _neeever_ show them that they can _get to meeee! HAHAHA!"_

He laughed, but his eyes were flooded with tears. Judy looked at him with true pain and concern…

Noticing the other prisoner's glare, Nick took a few deep breaths, calming himself down a little. But when he spoke again, it was evident that he was still in complete shock.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a c-cigarette, would you? Oh wait... you're not wearing any clothes… Heh-heh..." He then swung his paw at her, as if with a playful rebuke. "You screwed up my hustle, Carrots! Ya _fuzzbrain_! I almost had 'em!"

"Nick, what are you…" she began, but before she was able to finish her sentence, the fox interrupted her with another frantic wave of laughter. Swaying uneasily, he stood up on his hind legs, making Judy think that he must have not done that in days. Then, he began to sing.

" _As I was a goin' over the far famed Kerry mountains, I met with captain Feral and his money he was countin'. I first produced my pistol and I then produced my rapier, sayin' stand and deliver, for he were a bold deceiver. Mush-a RING dum-a do dum-a DA! Wack fall the daddy-o, wack fall the daddy-o, there's WHISKEY in the JAAAR!"_

At the final, false note, the fox choked, coughed, and almost tripped over. Seriously worried about her friend's state, the rabbit stood up to try to support him.

"You better sit down! You're not being yourself!" she attempted to persuade him. But Nick just took a step back and chuckled. He then drew a deep breath and, in a faux Irish accent, continued to howl:

" _In Zootopia cityyy, where the vixens are prettyyy, I first set my eeeyes on sweet Moooley Malone. As she wheeled her wheel-barrooow through streets broad and narrooow, cryin' cockles, and… MUZZLES! ALIVE, ALIVE-OOOH!"_

Tilting his head back a little too much, the crazed singer tripped for real this time. Collapsing to the floor like a limp thing before Judy was able to catch him, he rolled up in a ball, and began to weep.

"Scarlet… _where are you?!_ " he wailed, as his body quaked with sobbing.

His partner realized perfectly that the excess of suffering had caused the fox to experience some sort of a mental breakdown. Unsure of how she could help him, the rabbit put her paw on his shoulder, genuine sorrow showing in her expression…

The devastated animal began to moan, as if in a dream.

"Sorry, Carrots… I just can't. I got a girlfriend, you see… Besides, your father'd disown you… People always say they think we're together, but I think that's just ridiculous _… If you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish!"_

The last sentence came out of nowhere, and was followed by a surprisingly violent reaction. Springing to his feet all of a sudden, Nick bared his sharp fangs and issued a loud gekkering sound which made the frightened prey animal by his side immediately recede, protecting herself against the wall. For a second, the fox gazed at her as if he wanted to attack…

After a few moments of tense silence, during which Judy could feel her heart pounding, the predator blinked a few times. The look of his eyes now seemed more clear and focused. Hiding his teeth, he sat down with his back against the wall, and hung his head.

Realizing that he was now calm and seemingly back to his senses again, the rabbit also sat down. Continuing to examine her partner closely, she noticed that he looked as if he were overcome with biting remorse, for some reason.

They remained like this for so long they couldn't even tell. Judy decided to give the fox some time to cope with whatever horrible thought were haunting his mind right now. But when Nick just remained there, sitting like a stone statue engulfed in darkness, she eventually began humming, and then silently singing a song she remembered to cheer herself up.

" _All the world has slipped out of my grasp, and as yet I can feel no regret. If I had to and I could ever make my death-wish, it's not a secret and I know it well. I'd like to die of love…"_

Both of the captive ZPD officers knew that their present lamentable situation, which was going to most likely end in them losing their lives, was caused by the errors they had committed. That, plus the fact that they had both been deprived of clothing, made starting a conversation particularly difficult. But after Nick heard the words of his partner's song, he finally lifted his head and, directing his tired, blood-shot eyes at her, curiously asked:

"What's that?"

Happy to see that she caught his attention, Judy answered:

"Just a song I remember."

The fox continued to look at her sadly. Eventually, the female decided to get up. Walking over to his side, she sat nearby, also supporting her back against the cold stone wall.

"What's the matter?" she inquired.

There were, in fact, many 'matters', but Judy could clearly see that something especially painful was causing her friend the most pain right now. He didn't even have the courage to tell it to her looking her in the face.

"They really got to me this time, Carrots… _The serpent deceived me, and I did eat_."

That cryptic confession seemed vague to the rabbit.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, wrinkling her brow.

Her predator friend issued a deep sigh…

"I'm talking about _meat_ ," he whispered, both remorseful and frightened of what he'd let himself become. "I ate it, just like the reptiles did. And I enjoyed it. Better than taking hamphetamine."

Only then did he turn his head in Judy's direction, though he still had his eyes fixed at the floor.

"There'll always be carnivores," he said. "There'll always be those who give in to their beastly nature, just like I had, until this screwed up world turns to dust."

Neither of them had anything to say after that. Judy was, of course, in shock. The fox could only imagine how disgusted she was with him right now. Naturally, she almost instantly rose from the floor, moving as far away from the carnivore as she could.

For a long time, Nick remained in his spot, closing his eyes, trying as hard as he could not to think about anything. To rid his mind of all the horrible thoughts and images that had filled it throughout those past few days of hell… and to not go completely crazy by longing for those of his happy, safe past.

He was awoken by someone putting a paw on his shoulder. Realizing that the excess of strain from having been tortured by the reptiles must have caused him to fall asleep, he was surprised to see Judy, not only unafraid to touch him, but also offering some sort of gift.

"Here, eat this," the rabbit spoke to him, her paw stretched out toward him.

It took the fox some time to shake of his dreariness. Straining his eyes, he asked:

" _What?_ What is that?"

"It's a few grubs and mushrooms I found in our cell," the female described the things she was holding. "They probably don't taste as good as… well, other things… But it's protein. And we need that if we're gonna survive."

It was a gesture of good will. From a prey animal to a carnivore. If it weren't for his astonishment, Nick would have smiled. He wasn't going to be left alone, after all.

Taking the still-living larvae of some unknown subterranean bug from her paw, the fox ate them up quickly, as he didn't have anything in his mouth since forever. Looking at the mushrooms, however, he hesitated.

"Are… you sure these aren't poisonous?" he asked, frowning.

"Positive," is partner assured him. "I was raised on a farm, remember?"

Realizing that to be true, the fox stretched out his paw. But then, halting, he looked Judy in the eyes.

"No. You should eat something, too."

The rabbit exhibited a delicate smirk.

"I already did, before you woke up. Go on, take them!"

This time, Nick followed her recommendation. As he was eating, the rabbit sat by his side again.

"So, anyway…" she began rather awkwardly. "Turns out you were right. It was all the reptiles' fault all along… Mom always told me to stay away from swamps and forests. Cause that's where the crocs live, and where little kits go missing."

"Yeah… Oopsie," Nick responded, almost jokingly.

"Well, at least we're both single and have nothing to lose…" the female cop jeered, trying to cheer him and herself up. But the fox bit his lip.

"Not exactly…"

" _What?!_ Don't tell me that you and Scarlet came back together before this mess began!"

"Yeah, kinda…" he answered briefly, not unwilling to elaborate on the details of his and the vixen's reconciliation.

Now Judy felt even worse, realizing that reminding him of his girlfriend must have caused her partner even more pain. Thankfully, the fox himself continued the conversation, changing the subject.

"Please, just tell me you didn't come down here all alone to rescue me," he demanded, obviously joking in his own manner.

" _Puh!_ Who do you take me for? Some naïve little hick?" Judy snorted cockily. "I was kidnapped. And what about you? What're you doing in this… hellhole?"

"Lookin' for reptiles… Guess I finally found them, didn't I?"

"And I thought that, of the two of us, I'm supposed to be the workaholic! I suspended you for a reason, stupid fox!"

They both laughed sincerely, though rather bitterly. Especially Judy. It was her who afterwards sighed with genuine sorrow and, looking into her partner's eyes, said in a serious tone:

"I'm sorry. I really am. I know it's probably too late for that, but now I see how self-absorbed I was. I was only focusing on myself, on my own goals and successes… and that eventually led to a catastrophe. No wonder chief Bogo degraded me."

"Bogo degraded you, too?" Nick inquired, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah…" the female cop chuckled, but without any real humor. "We're both just officers again. I kinda wish I were doing parking duty right now… I should have listened to my parents. Real life is more messy than I thought as a kit."

She hung her head in deep self-disappointment, which caused her partner to feel bad for her. And also for himself.

"Judy, listen!" he exclaimed with a broken voice, grabbing her by the shoulders. "It's _me_ who has some serious apologizing to do! I-I mean, back then, in my apartment… I could have injured you! I'm so sorry for drinking, and taking those drugs, and neglecting my work… I've been a real jerk. A disgrace to the whole ZPD."

"Nick, don't say that…" she tried to comfort him, but he was by now fully conscious of the terrible things he had done.

" _No!_ " he yelled, both contrite and mad with himself. "There's nothing that can take away my guilt! I've been a sly crook once, but that was _nothing_ … Down here, I have done things… too terrible to describe!"

An expression of total anguish covered his face, and his eyes were filled with fear. Their vacant gaze drifted away somewhere, and Judy feared that he was slipping into insanity again.

"Nick! _Nick!_ Snap out of it! Listen to me!"

She yelled until he finally looked at her soberly again. Then, in a soft voice, she said:

"I forgive you."

" _W-what?!_ " yelped the predator, almost unable to comprehend the word she uttered."

"I forgive you!" the rabbit repeated, with more emphasis this time. "I can see how this is making you feel. You didn't _want_ to do all those horrible things. You were forced to do it. Just like in _Butcher's Den_."

At first, it seemed that the fox was about to burst out in tears. He began hyperventilating, but after considering his partner's words carefully, and realizing that she was telling the truth, he finally eased a bit, gazing at her with gratitude.

"Now, please forgive _me_ for _my_ mistakes," she herself expressed her remorse.

Nick smiled.

"I do forgive you, officer Hopps."

"Thank you, officer Wilde," the rabbit returned the smile.

They shared a friendly hug which was long and strong. Even in this hell, they at least had one another again. It was a real paradox that the two cops who had thought in Zootopia, were able to reconcile underneath its streets, in the sewers, where the villainous reptiles dwelled.

"So," Nick began after they split and sat by each other's side again. "You mentioned _Butcher's Den_. This place does kinda remind you of the dungeon under Oscar Fangley's factory, doesn't it?"

"Yup, it sure does," Judy agreed, picking up her friend's dark humor. "If we got out of that prison, I suppose we can escape this one too, right?"

"Sure hope so…" the fox said, rather unconvinced. "I found out that these herps have actually had a connection with _Butcher's Den_ for a long time. They basically follow the same philosophy. Well, maybe except for the fact that the reptiles here are _draconists_ … You know what I mean, don't you? They are worshippers of the Dragon."

"You may be on to something here, Fox Mulder…" responded the female, recalling what she heard during the herps' ritual the other night with dread.

"That monitor lizard who calls himself _the_ Dragon told me that they're not after our bodies, but our _souls_ ," Nick remembered his own gruesome experience. "Do you know what that means?"

"I don't think I even want to know…" his partner mumbled back.

They both felt as if it suddenly got colder in their cell, even though it was already chilly and damp. Not having anything else to warm themselves with but their fur, the couple of animals moved even closer together. Nick surrounded Judy with his paw, while she placed her head on his shoulder.

Not long afterward, he heard her break the silence within their prison with singing. It sounded like a little girl was trying to lull herself back to sleep after being awaken by a nightmare.

" _This day God gives me strength of high heaven, sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth. Flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness, depths of the ocean, firmness of earth…"_

Astonished, the fox realized that he recognized the words.

"Isn't that… the _Deerscry?_ " he asked his friend. "That prayer of St. Petrick? Where do you know that from?"

"Oh, we sang that at the church I used to attend with my family back in Bunnyburrow," she explained. "I always liked that song."

The rabbit then continued to sing silently. Eventually, the fox, who also knew the words taught him by his old pastor by heart, joined her.

" _This day God sends me strength as my guardian, might to uphold me, wisdom as guide. Your eyes are watchful, your ears are listening, your lips are speaking, friend at my side. God's way is my way, God's shield is round me, God's host defends me, saving from ill. Angels of heaven, drive from me always all that would harm me, stand by me still."_

They continued their duet until both their racing hearts were calmed, and the two friends felt a little peace in the midst of the darkness they found themselves in.

But the darkness was not far behind.

Hearing the sound of someone's pawsteps on the pavement, they silenced and held each other even more closely, afraid that their voices may have angered the reptiles.

Indeed, not long afterward, a large alligator, wearing nothing but a leather pouch, stood before the bars. Crossing his arms, he sent the prisoners a glare of disdain.

" _LaCoste_!" Nick snarled at him. "You savage _bastard!_ "

The reptile, however, was unfazed by his insult.

"If you value the rest of your body parts, I suggest you do not address me by my Zootopian last name, Mr. Wilde. I _hate_ that!"

Seeing that the mammals had nothing more to say, the Scaledonian ambassador reached into his pouch. He pulled out of it some strange object which he then threw inside the cell.

"We've been looking for her for months, but our patience was finally rewarded. I thought you should know about it," Allastor said. "She had killed many of our members, so obviously we'd prefer to capture her alive. She put up quite a fight, but unfortunately, before we were able to grab hold of her, she ended her own life with a bullet to the head. What a shame."

Unable to understand what the reptile was talking about, Nick crawled over to the door, and quickly picked up the object that laid there. But after he examined it, he froze, and the item fell out of his paw again.

For it was the severed tail of a wolf, which had an old bandage dangling at the end.

"Mathilda…" the fox whispered the name of the animal who had saved both his and Judy's life on several different occasions. He and his partner shared a look of true sorrow…

On the other side of their cell door, Allastor snorted mockingly.

"That she-wolf was the only one to have ever escaped from us. But, as you can see, that only lasted for a while. Your fate has already been sealed. _Abandon hope all ye who enter here_."

Leaving the prisoners with their dark sorrow, the reptile then departed.

Again, Nick and Judy embraced one another, both unable to keep themselves from crying. They found themselves surrounded by so much death they could harldy take it anymore...

"It's like they delight in causing other people pain!" whimpered the rabbit, pulling her nose.

The fox said nothing, instead hugging her tighter.

Only after a long while did they let go of one another. Then Nick picked up Mathilda's tail again.

"I gotta throw this damn thing away!" he uttered with disgust.

But when he was almost about to do so, he hesitated.

"Wait a minute…" the predator said in a way that seemed strange to Judy. He then moved closer to the candle.

"What is it?" his partner asked him, noticing to her astonishment that Nick began to finger the fur of severed appendage for some reason.

It appeared that something Allastor had been carrying in his pouch had intertwined with the hair… When the fox managed to detach it, he showed it to his friend.

It was a key.

"Could it be…?" gasped the stunned Judy.

"There's only one way to find out," Nick answered her.

Not getting his hopes up too much, he went over to the door of their cell.

"Is the coast clear?" he whispered.

The rabbit cocked up her ears. Listening carefully for a while, she said:

"I think so."

With a shaking paw, the fox then put the key in the keyhole at the other side of the door…

Judy heard it unlock with a metallic click.

* * *

 **AN: Lawrence's dead. Mathilda's dead. But Nick and Judy are back together, they've forgiven one another, and perhaps, thanks to the reptiles' mistake, they don't have to abandon all hope just yet?**

 **I'm gonna leave it at that for the Holidays. Have a happy Easter, everyone, and see you later! XD**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Greetings! Hope you all had a happy Easter. Let's get right to it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

„ _Score!_ Looks like Mathilda's saving our butts even though she offed herself," Nick whispered with a smile, almost shaking from the thrill. As he shyly opened their cell door, making sure to try to prevent the metal from screeching as much as possible, he said to his partner: "I-I'm not hallucinating again, am I?"

"If you are, then I am, too," Judy answered, hardly able to keep herself from crying out in joy. But, immediately, she came to a more reasonable realization. "But what if it's a trap?"

The fox turned his head, taking a moment to ponder. Then, he confidently responded:

"And what if it's _not_ a trap?"

Judy had to agree with him. There was no other option for them but to at least try to run away from their dungeon, no matter what. And they were ready to take all the risks involved rather than stay and wait for the reptiles to make their lives even more of a nightmare.

"Do you know the way?" asked the rabbit, who had not spent nearly as much time in the sewers as Nick.

"I think so," he answered her with a shaky voice. "C'mon, but be careful. And keep those ears pricked up!"

Following his instructions obediently, she exited the cell right behind the fox's back, moving as silently as she could, listening intently for any sound as they moved on.

The stone underground halls were dark, yet silent. Judy did not pick up any noise which she would recognize as belonging to the carnivores. But she did hear something else- a faint animal sound which made her hesitate.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. The desperate cry was making her heart break. Biting her lip, she grabbed Nick by the elbow, stopping him.

"What is it?" the fox immediately stiffened, holding his breath.

Judy moved closer to him, and awkwardly whispered.

"Don't worry. It's just that… Over there, in the other cells… I can hear the rest of the prisoners. Nick, we… we've got to help them!"

He turned around, giving her a stern look. Obviously, he thought that she was talking crazy. It was best to slip out of there as soon as possible, and then contact the police so they could free the others later than risk a more widespread breakout. But when Nick saw the look in Judy's eyes, he understood that, if they didn't act immediately, someone else might lose their life before they would be able to return…

Though reluctant, the fox waved his paw at his partner, indicating he wanted her to follow.

They entered a side tunnel which led to another cell. Its metal bars reached from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. It was from there that the sound Judy heard was coming.

As soon as Nick stood before the bars, a loud cry reached his ears. On the other side, he saw a whole band of frightened, dirty lambs, bunched up in a flock in their utter despair.

The terrified animals caused quite an uproar when they noticed the predator. Running to her partner's side, Judy immediately tried to calm them.

" _Shhh!_ It's okay! We're from the ZPD, we're here to get you out!" she whispered.

"Please, stay quiet!" Nick also encouraged them. "Hold on a second. I've got the key."

But the lambs kept moaning no matter how hard they encouraged them, their eyes hollow and numb from the fear…

Finally, when the fox unlocked the cell with the key which Allastor had dropped, Judy forced a smile and enticed the prey animals to come with them.

But the lambs just stood there, bleating.

"What's the matter with you?" the bedazzled female officer observed that in exasperation. Running into the cell, she attempted to pull one of the animals out. "C'mon, you're free! Let's get out of here before the reptiles hear us!"

Unfortunately, it was all for nothing.

Sighing in disappointment, Nick looked at his partner sadly.

"It's no use, Carrots," he told her. "They're in shock. Completely enthralled. We're gonna have to leave them here."

" _No!_ " she snapped at him angrily, though she had tears in her eyes. "We've got to help them!"

Grabbing one of the lambs' fleece, she attempted to force it to move. But the animal was way too heavy.

"Carrots, let's get out of here…" the fox insisted, now seriously worried about the noise they were making and their obvious lack of time.

Eventually, Judy also realized the same thing. The lambs, having been prisoners for days, have also given in to their primitive instincts. And those ordered them to stay put, bunched up together no matter what.

There was nothing they could do but relock the cell door and, with a heavy heart, be on their way.

Again the two police officers entered the damp passages through which Nick was leading them toward where he remembered the exit was. And although they were able to leave the dungeons successfully and without interference, Judy had to touch the fox's arm yet again after a couple of minutes…

"There's someone coming from the opposite direction," she informed him, whispering so silently that he barely understood what she said. "Oh, I hope they didn't hear us…"

Although his heart pounded like a mallet, Nick reacted instantly.

"Quick," he said, grabbing his partner's paw and forcefully pulling her into the nearest adjacent chamber before she was even able to resist. He could already hear the reptile guards coming himself.

Judy gasped out of pain when the fox dragged her into the room, although she managed to hold her tongue. But when they both saw what was inside the chamber…

" _Ah!_ " yelped the rabbit, her eyes instantly filled with the expression of true horror.

"Quiet!" Nick ordered her in a whisper, grabbing the bewitched female in his grasp and forcing her to sit down on the floor together with him, their backs against the wall, covering her mouth with his paw and turning her head away from the gruesome sight. "We've got to be _quiet!_ "

They had unwittingly slipped into the reptiles' trophy room, where Judy, unlike Nick, had never been before. He could only imagine the effect all the tanned hides and stuffed severed heads displayed on the walls, which gazed at them with their glass eyes, had on the rabbit…

Judy shook like a leaf in her partner's arms, putting much effort into keeping herself from sobbing so loudly that she would attract all the carnivores around with her cries of horror. The only thing that made that possible was Nick's closeness, and the resolution she made that the devilish practices underneath Zootopia _needed to end_.

Only a minute or two had passed, but to the duo of cops it seemed like an eternity. Finally, Judy lifted her eyes at Nick, pulling her nose and wiping the tears away.

"They're gone. They didn't hear anything. Let's get out of here," she said in a broken voice.

The fox only looked at her compassionately, and nodded.

They ran out without turning back. The predator, who had walked these halls for the past days, could now recognize that they were getting closer to the exit which led to the sewers. He knew that when they passed by a large underground pond.

"What's this?" Judy asked him, slowing down a bit to take a look around and listen if the coast was clear.

"It's the carnivores' water supply," Nick informed her.

"Uh, I wish I could poison it…" the angered female whispered back to him. Straining her ears, not hearing any sounds carrying over the surface of the water, she then indicated that they could move on.

After taking a few more steps, however, this time Nick was the one to stop her.

"Hold it," he said, sniffing the air around. "I can feel the scent of some carnie mammal nearby. It might be Rufus. I'm sure they made someone watch the exit."

"So what're we gonna do?" the rabbit asked him, realizing that what he said was true.

Nick rubbed his temples, trying to focus. And then he noticed where they were.

"That chamber over there," he pointed at one of the corridors. "That's where they keep everything they steal from their victims. They call it the _wardrobe_ … Anyway, that's where they probably put our guns. I think we should get them."

" _Yes!_ " Judy reacted to his idea with a large amount of enthusiasm. "We might even pick up some clothes before returning to the streets…"

In great anticipation, both officers entered the room, noticing that it was indeed filled with piles of clothes and racks with all sorts of items and equipment.

"There's my uniform!" exclaimed the rabbit, noticing it lying on top of one of the heaps, instantly rushing to get it.

But Nick was a bit less hasty. Halting at the chamber's entrance, he lifted his nose again and began to sniff.

"Carrots, wait a minute. Something's not right here…" he warned her.

And he was absolutely right.

The sound of laughter quickly filled the room, making both the cops flinch. And it was not just one person laughing.

The duo of officers realized that they had fallen into an ambush.

First, a middle-aged male cheetah, naked, ferocious, much slimmer and way more muscular than officer Clawhauser, pounced Judy's way, ejecting from the top of one of the tall racks. When he landed not more than two yards away from her, the rabbit hopped back with a terrified shriek, rushing to her partner's side.

Before she even got there, another nude and muscular predator, a young lioness, stood atop a heap of clothes, causing a small avalanche.

The cheetah and the lioness eyed the run-away prisoners victoriously, continuing to chuckle. Now Nick and Judy clearly understood that this indeed had all been nothing but a trap. The fox gnashed his fangs as he embraced the female, trying to calm her.

"Run. I'll slow them down," he said to her, getting ready for a very uneven fight.

" _No!_ Are you crazy?!" the rabbit staunchly protested, refusing to move a muscle.

The two carnivorous felines then both took a step toward them, standing side by side.

"Well, isn't this perfect?" the cheetah addressed the lioness, not taking his eyes off Nick and Judy.

"Yeah, right where we wanted them!" the other feline spoke, her sharp fangs glistening in the dark.

To their shock, the Zootopian police officers easily recognized the couple of predators, as they were well-known celebrities from the city. The cheetah's name was James P. Hunt, and he was the host of a popular ZNN talk-show, aptly named the 'Jimmy Hunt Show'. There, talking with other popular Zootopians on Saturday evenings, he often discussed issues like the 'persecution of the predator minority'.

The lioness, on the other hand, was one of those people who were 'famous for being famous', but still Nick and Judy also recognized Kiara Bytes in an instant. She was the daughter of an influential Z-town councilor, a fashion designer, and an outspoken predator rights activist. Plus, a self-declared _pacifist_.

Both of the felines were known to have vigorously fought the 'prejudice' of predators being dangerous, expressed by many prey animals in the city. And now, seeing them here and in such circumstances, the two police officers found out that the two celebs were nothing more than master liars, and complete hypocrites. They remembered what Oscar Fangley had told them long ago, about carnivorism having reached 'the highest echelons of Zootopia'. It must have indeed been true, as Jimmy Hunt and Kiara Bytes were members of Z-town's aristocracy.

They had hidden themselves well. But now, down in the Dragon's lair, they no longer needed to do that.

"Should we have a little race?" Jimmy suggested with a smug grin, completely ignoring how frightened the two animals standing before them were.

"What, you think you can win?" Kiara puffed up her chest, responding cockily.

"Well, I am faster than you, sweetheart."

"Yeah, but _I'm_ stronger, _darling!_ "

Completely outraged with their ridiculous argument, as well as with the fact that the two carnivores did not pay them any attention, Nick decided to speak.

" _Hey!_ What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he screamed, shaking with both anger and fear at the same time.

The cheetah and the lioness redirected their eyes at him and Judy, as if just now noticing their presence.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the male said, though he clearly wasn't sorry. "We forgot to introduce ourselves, Mr. Wilde. My name is…"

"We know who you are!" Judy yelled back at them, angered by the fact that Jimmy, like most carnivores, did not speak to her only because she was a prey animal.

The cheetah stammered a bit awkwardly, so the lioness continued for him.

"Yes, obviously, you know us from TV," she said with a proud smile. "No wonder. We never had the _pleasure_ to personally meet each other back at _Butcher's Den._ But better late than never, right?"

The carnivores continued to smile, eyeing Nick and Judy in a very nasty way… Both of the officers felt their stomachs turn.

"What… are you… gonna do?" the rabbit issued the question to which both her and her partner already knew the answer.

" _Hahaha!_ " the cheetah and the lioness responded to that with a burst of laughter.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Jimmy. "We're gonna _hunt_ you! It's been ages since Kiara and I did that back at good ol' 537 Parrot Street in Ferndale, Horne County. Before you two _idiots_ had the place raided, that is!"

The idea of being hunted was not particularly pleasant to both the rabbit, and the fox… Judy could still remember how terrible she felt back at _Butcher's Den_ , where her own partner had pretended to do that, even though she did not know at the time that it was only a hustle. The old bite marks he left on her neck that day suddenly started to itch.

But, surprisingly, Nick was experiencing this even worse than she did. He may have been a predator, but he was only a _secondary_ predator. He had never been a target of a hunt before in his life… and the perspective of being hunted, now so horribly tangible, almost made him lose his breath.

Redirecting his eyes, which pupils were as wide as quarters, at his partner, he then whispered but one word.

" _Run_."

Clearly, Jimmy and Kiara were taken by surprise when their prey fled the chamber. But that was rather predictable, generally speaking, and only made the couple of carnivores roll their eyes.

"Uhhh… yiff the police!" cussed the exasperated female.

"No. _Catch_ the police!" the cheetah retorted with a smile, already rushing into pursuit, getting ahead of her, what made the lioness even more angry.

"Hey! Hold up, you cheater!" she yelled, joining the hunt herself.

In the meantime, taking advantage of the head start they managed to obtain over the two savage felines, Nick and Judy were speeding down the stone tunnel like their lives depended on it. And, of course, their lives _did_ depend on it.

Tired, hungry and sore from their injuries, they weren't able to run as fast as they wanted, however. After a couple hundred yards, they were already completely winded.

The fox was more tired than the rabbit, and also not as fast generally. Eventually, he noticed that Judy was running slower than she was capable of, so as to stay by her partner's side.

"Ca-rrots! You… go on! Don't… wait… for me!" he huffed, the stub of his tail waving in the air behind him.

His friend didn't listen to him, however, instead clasping his hand more tightly, pulling him with her.

Nick's lungs burned like acid… until he heard a lioness' roar right behind his back, that is.

It appeared that Kiara had overtaken Jimmy on the course of their pursuit, and was now almost on Nick and Judy's tails.

"Oh _shiiiiiit!_ " the fox yelped in utter terror after he looked over his shoulder, noticing the furious female feline charging straight at them.

He then reacted instinctively, falling to his front and hind legs. Noticing that, just like in _Butcher's Den_ , that made her partner run faster, Judy soon followed suit.

The distance between the hunters and the prey increased. Nick knew that they were almost where he remembered the entrance to be…

But, in the end, the merciless laws of physics and nature prevailed over their longing for freedom. It was simply impossible for a rabbit and a fox to outrun a pair of predators from the top of the food chain, especially in their miserable state.

Too tired to keep up the pace, Nick started falling behind. Almost panicking when she saw that, Judy remained by his side, trying to encourage him not to give up…

But he just smiled to her, and whispered:

"G-go. Don't… worry about me…"

He then halted completely.

" _Nick!_ " Judy screamed, noticing that she left him way behind her back. She knew he wanted her to keep running… but she just couldn't.

Trying to suddenly stop while galloping full-speed made her slip and slide on the moist pavement of the tunnel. Before she was even able to regain her balance and see what's going on, she felt a cheetah's fangs piercing the skin on her nape, reopening her old wounds.

Jimmy jerked his head a few times, trying to force her to yield. But all Judy could think of right now was not breaking free from the hunter's grasp, but seeing what had happened to her friend.

Unfortunately, when the feline lifted her up from the ground, she could see that Nick had already been knocked to the floor behind her, and crushed with the weight of Kiara's body.

A shiver ran down Judy's neck.

"I've… got… the fox!" bragged the tired lioness, holding her catch tightly between her paws.

The cheetah dropped Judy right by her side, immediately putting his clawed paw on the herbivore's chest.

"And I've… got… the rabbit," Jimmy also panted. "She was the faster one, so… I guess we can call it… a tie?"

"Yeah, sure. Seems fair," the lioness responded joyfully, as if all this was a game of checkers.

In the meantime, the completely frightened Judy quivered under the crushing weight of her hunter's paw, defeated and anxious. Fearing that her partner may have already been dead, straining to lift her head, she gazed his way…

Nick was just lying there with his eyes open, injured, but alive. He also looked at his friend sadly.

"Well, no time to lose," continued the cheetah, redirecting his sight at the prey in his grasp, the reward of a successful hunt, licking his lips hungrily.

The lioness, however, was a bit less eager to eat than him.

" _Err…_ Jimmy?" she addressed her fellow carnivore uneasily after taking a closer look at the exhausted fox between her paws. "Do you really think I should… you know… _eat_ him?"

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" the cheetah asked a question which, to the ears of Nick and Judy, sounded particularly disgusting.

Kiara continued to wince, though it was not because she suddenly grew a conscience.

"It's just that… I've never eaten another meat-eater. Seems kinda… weird, doesn't it?"

" _Heh,_ so that's what it is?" Jimmy jeered at her hesitation. "You females! So sensitive. Don't worry, Mr. Wilde's just a secondary consumer. You're the apex predator. That places you above him on the food chain, no matter how you wanna look at it. But, if you're still having second thoughts, tell you what- why don't we switch? I'm up for that, as long as you're fine with eating rabbit. Plus, I'm kinda curious to find out if the meat of another carnivore tastes better than that of a herbie."

That conversation was making both the defeated officers sick. Was this really how their end was to look? Were they to become the content of the picky stomachs of a couple of stupid celebrities?

"Fine!" to their shock, Kiara responded to Jimmy's proposition joyfully.

"Alright," the cheetah said to her. "Just make sure to strangle your prey before we switch. We wouldn't want them to slip away while we're arguing…"

Both the felines then readied to do just that. Nick and Judy's lives flashed before their eyes…

Until they heard a powerful voice booming through the halls.

" _DO NOT KILL!"_

Visibly astounded, the cheetah and the lioness froze with their mouths agape. Both of their victims also stiffened on the ground, completely paralyzed, now too stunned to comprehend what was going on.

It appeared that the hunt had spectator all along.

From the adjacent chambers and corridors, there came the reptiles- Gnarlathotep the Sentinel, Ra the Snake, and Allastor the Grand Lizard. Rufus Lynx came along with them, grinning. The group was led by the Dragon, from whom the order came. It was also him who made the carnivores gather in a circle around the hunters. The cheetah and the lioness bowed their heads before him humbly as he pierced them with a stern glare, at once losing all of their glee.

"What have I told you? The time of the feast is not now, but _later_!" the mighty monitor rebuked his underlings.

"W-we do remember, Master…" Kiara tried to deliver an explanation for both her and the male, yet not daring to look the Dragon in the eyes.

He then came up to the young huntress, testing the air with his tongue as he did so. Redirecting his eyes at the petrified prey in her grasp, he snorted, and spoke more calmly.

"You both did well. Now give me room."

Realizing that they were not about to be punished, both her and the cheetah breathed with relief. The same could not be said for Nick and Judy, however.

The Dragon came up to the trembling officers, and bit each of them on the arm, piercing their skin and allowing his poisonous saliva to contaminate their blood.

A moment later, Kiara and Jimmy could stand up without fear that the fox and the rabbit would escape. As they were now completely paralyzed.

A new, even darker wave of terror flooded their hearts when they saw the circle of carnivores stooping down to gaze at the defenseless animals, who to them were nothing but playthings…

"Your hour has not yet come, but the time is short," the Dragon bellowed at them. "This is where all your nightmares come true. We know what you're afraid of most, and we assure you- the worst is yet to come."

He knew that he was robbing them of the last bits of hope. He could see that clearly by the way both of the desperate creatures sobbed, not even able to wipe off the tears that were now running down their faces in streams.

And he seemed to be enjoying that sensation.

Rufus the bobcat also crouched to look at their victims closely, constantly bearing a scoffing smirk. It appeared he wished to add even more weight to their suffering.

"I've been up to Zootopia today," he informed them. "The ZPD are as busy as bees searching for you. Too bad they're looking in all the wrong places… They've scoured the bayous in the Canal District, and introduced curfew all around the city. There's a cop on every corner wherever you go, day and night. But only _two_ down here, in the sewers!"

Not long ago, Nick and Judy thought that they still had a chance. But now, all they could feel was despair. What the reptiles did to them was torture. _Pure_ torture.

The Dragon stood over both of them one last time, and said:

"If you still think that this has a happy ending… you haven't been paying attention."

He then ordered his minions to drag the paralyzed couple back to their cell.

* * *

 **AN: (flinches)** _ **Ooh,**_ **Nick and Judy just got Ramsay Bolton-ed! Anyone for pork sausage?**

 **Sorry. I know this isn't funny…**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Music- Adele,** _ **Skyfall.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

Nick and Judy were put back behind the bars of their cell, which were as merciless and cold as the hearts of their captors. But from what the reptiles had told them, they knew they wouldn't remain there for long.

It took several hours for the Dragon's poison to wear off. After the two prisoners were finally able to move again, in a dark grief of failure and imminent death, they each sat in opposite corners of their tight, depressing prison.

Sore all over, barely managing to stop the gash on her chest caused by Jimmy Hunt's claws from bleeding, Judy still clung to the resolution that she should continue to look for something, some way in which they could still escape their inevitable doom… But seeing Nick, her friend, curled up in complete despair on the other side of the cell made her so sad she couldn't think of anything else.

Lifting up from the ground, she shuffled over to his side slowly, though each motion caused her extra pain.

She noticed that the fox was crying.

Heartbroken, she stooped down to his level, though he didn't seem to pay any attention to her presence. The female then delicately put her paw on his shoulder.

He lifted his head and looked at her with tearful eyes, indicating to her that he had not lost his sanity after all. But what he said made Judy feel even worse.

"It's all over…" he mumbled, his voice resounding with a deep, overwhelming sorrow. He was struggling to utter the words in between sobs. "We're… we're dead meat, Carrots. The reptiles… they'll kill us… and then they'll take over the city."

No. It couldn't be like that. She just _couldn't_ let that happen! But what could she do? What could she still say to her friend to convince him otherwise?

"Nick… don't say that!" she pleaded. "I-if you believe in that, you'll let the reptiles win…"

"They _have_ won, don't you see?!" the fox burst out. But then he turned his face away, remorseful. "I can't… I don't _want_ this to happen. I-I want to… go back up… see the sun again. I wanna see… my mother… S-Scarlet… W-we were supposed to start going to therapy together, you know…"

"What?" Judy inquired about that last part, realizing both that she had no idea what Nick was saying, and that maybe speaking about it would sooth him a little bit.

"Y-yeah," the fox stammered, remembering his girlfriend. "Scarlet used to be a c-carnivore… just like me. I-I never told you 'cause… you'd have put her in jail. It's not important now, anyway. W-we both decided to quit, b-but it's not that easy… And then there's the kit. Scarlet's nephew. I-I… W-we were supposed to…"

Unfortunately, those memories caused more pain than anything else now, as Nick realized that he would never see Scarlet, or Ezra, or anyone he knew, ever again. That, plus his complete mental and emotional exhaustion, caused him to break down completely.

Unable to say anything anymore, he motioned at Judy in order to indicate to her that he needed a moment alone. Though it pained her, she obeyed his request.

As the rabbit proceeded to walk around the cell, seemingly looking for some sort of magical means of salvation, Nick remained seated on the pavement, attempting to control the convulsions of his body, caused by both physical and internal suffering. It was only recently that his life had changed so radically for the better, with a new lifestyle, a new job, and someone he thought he could spend the rest of his life with. And now, it was all about to come undone. He was going to die a horrible death here, in this hell. The poor fox just couldn't understand why it was to be like that.

No help came from the ZPD, nor anyone. Down here, nobody was on their side. All he could do was to mumble a prayer mindlessly, waiting for his executioners to come.

Suddenly, Nick felt the touch of something warm, and flinched. Hiding his face in between his knees, he completely failed to notice what Judy was doing in the meantime. When she put her paw on his shoulder again, he gazed at her, wondering what she wanted.

The rabbit stretched out her other paw toward him. She was holding a couple of mushrooms.

"I… I can't eat," he mumbled, thinking that his partner wished to share a meal with him. He was, of course, starving, but in this state, he wouldn't be able to swallow a single bite.

Judy, however, shook her head negatively.

There was something completely different on her mind right now.

"You don't understand," she spoke to him very seriously. "These are not regular mushrooms. They belong to the genus _Amanita ocreata_ , the 'Angel of Death'."

Unable to comprehend much from the rabbit's farming jargon, Nick wrinkled his brow. Then, a bit more quietly and with a sad glow in her eye, Judy briefly explained to him the nature of the fungus.

"They are poisonous."

Now he knew what her plan was… and it made a shiver run down his back. His partner, unlike him, looked like she was ready for death. Perhaps it was because she always knew that was a possibility, from the day she decided to become a cop?

The Dragon had informed them that 'the worst was yet to come'. After what both of them had gone though, the fox could definitely see how someone would want to avoid even worse horrors, and deprive the reptiles of the satisfaction they took in torture. Even Mathilda had done the same…

But still, Nick felt it was wrong. And that he couldn't do it himself.

Looking in Judy's purple irises, he stuttered:

"Carrots… I don't want to… c-commit suicide…"

But when he said that, oddly enough, the rabbit's face was covered with something as close to a smile as was possible in these circumstances.

"No no, it's not like that," she then explained. "It would take hours for these mushrooms to kill us. What I suggest is that, right before those herps finally come to get us, we'll swallow them and let the poison fill up our veins. So that, when they _do_ eat us… they'll sign their own death sentence. Get it? This way, it won't be suicide. It'll be… our _victory_."

She revealed her ultimate scheme with so much zeal and determination, as well as a fair amount of lust for revenge, that Nick felt inspired by her attitude. And that almost made him chuckle as well.

" _Huh._ Y-you really don't know when to give up, don't you?" he said, smiling in spite of his tears.

"No, I don't," Judy answered, as confident as always. "This Dragon said he knows what we fear most. Well, your buddy Chase's assessment he once made about me was right. The thing I'm afraid of most is _failure_. This is why I will _not_ give them the satisfaction of defeating us! Even... even if I have to die."

Nick looked at the 'Angel of Death' mushrooms in her paw, and then back at her again.

"And neither will I."

Within the very core of darkness, the duo of friends shared a smile. It was much easier to come to terms with death together, and knowing that, perhaps, their sacrifice could still be of some use.

" _Sometimes we come last, but we did our best_ …" quoted Judy, sitting by her partner's side.

"Who knows, maybe if the carnivores who eat us really do kick the bucket, their rampage in the city will be stopped? At least a little bit?" Nick wondered, a strange type of gallows humor kicking in with him again. "I just hope the guys from the ZPD find them, eventually…"

"There's always hope," whispered the rabbit, putting her head on his shoulder.

* * *

The herps started moving about, on their way to the main chamber, and Judy was able to estimate that they were finally getting ready for the big event. With a deep gasp, both of the prisoners then stood face to face, each with an 'Angel of Death' in his paw.

They both shook like leaves, awaiting the inevitable.

"You… ready?" mumbled Nick, feeling his throat tightening.

"No…" answered Judy. Her nose was twitching like crazy, and her pupils were wide as dinner plates.

"L-let's do this together, okay?" Suggested the fox.

His partner nodded.

"One…" he said, lifting the mushroom up to his mouth, looking her in the eyes.

"… t-two…" responded she, doing the same.

"… three."

The two animals put the poisonous fungus in between their teeth. Then, they started chewing. The taste was bitter and spicy, as if to indicate the deadly nature of the food.

On cue, both of them swallowed.

"Our final hustle…" the fox said silently.

"With the emphasis on _final_ …" the rabbit whispered back.

Facing the bars, they held each other's paws, listening to the approaching pawsteps of their jailors. The shivering of their bodies, which they were no longer able to control, intensified.

The crocodile known as Gnarlathotep then entered the chamber, along with Rufus the bobcat.

"Your time has come," uttered the reptile passionlessly.

"Don't resist. It's pointless," the mammal added, smirking.

They afterwards opened the door. Taking out a leash, Rufus fastened it around Judy's neck. But when Nick saw the muzzle which Gnarlathotep pulled out of his pouch…

" _NO!_ " he screamed, jumping back in despair, crumbling in the corner. "Take that _thing_ away from me!"

The sight of the item he feared almost made him go totally insane… Worried for her friend, Judy cried out to him.

" _Nick!_ Hold on, I'm here! You can take it!"

Grinding his fangs, he glared from her to the approaching guard, shaking like a cornered prey animal.

"Come _peacefully_!" the feline spoke softly, obviously mocking him.

The fox then closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and using the little strength he had left in him, permitted himself to be restrained.

When Rufus pulled him out of the cell, he was turning his head, yelping miserably. He grasped Judy's paw _very_ hard.

And so they went on to their execution, not even able to imagine what horrors awaited them with each new step they took. It was a walk of death. But the only thing that still gave both of them hope was that it was not only _their_ death approaching.

The main chamber was illuminated with the light of many tallow candles. Carnivores were gathered there, naked and down on all fours, voracious beasts ready for the feast. The Dragon stood against the wall, underneath the large skull of a goat which hung above his head.

The two police officers walked in standing upright, deprived of their uniforms but not their dignity, not showing their fear. They were at once surrounded with the roars of the gathered mammals, as well as the reptiles' bellows.

Gnarlathotep and Rufus removed their restraints, and joined the circle. Freed from his muzzle, Nick looked around with a final expression of disdain and defiance.

Gazing Judy's way, Jimmy the cheetah and Kiara the lioness, who were also in attendance, rapt in utter rage, both howled:

" _This is for the Butcher! Blood for blood!_ "

The rabbit answered them nothing.

Allastor the Grand Lizard, acting as the carnivores' representative, then stood before the prisoners.

"You won't win! There'll always be predators who will stand against your savagery!" the fox yelled in his face, knowing he had nothing more to lose.

The alligator sent him a glare of mocking disdain.

"Predators such as _you_? Then, we have nothing to fear."

He afterwards turned toward the Dragon.

" _Festum Mortis celebrantes, adsumus_!" cried the Grand Lizard.

" _ADSUUUMUUUS!_ " answered the others.

The monitor shook his mighty head, blew air from his nostrils and, testing the air with his tongue, proceeded to slither toward Nick and Judy. The two animals, who continued holding each other's paws, wished they could move away from him… But they had nowhere to go.

Halting before them, the Dragon lifted his golden-black eyes, which were as deep as some evil abyss, to look into their frightened faces.

" _Ah…_ a rabbit and a fox. Like a scene from the Garden of Eden in this hell of ours," the disgusting reptile uttered in his outlandish voice of a demon. "Friendship is stronger than love, isn't it? Yet, there is something even stronger. Stronger than friendship, stronger than forgiveness. That which can shatter any illusion of a heaven on earth. That which overcomes both mind and will… _You_ call it madness. _We_ call it _passion_."

Delighting in the fear his cryptic words instilled in the hearts of his victims, the beast then turned to his minions and nodded, giving them some signal.

Gnarlathotep went to get his pouch, while the Dragon continued to gaze straight in the rabbit's eyes…

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, her voice shaking insecurely.

The reptile master exhibited the most revolting of smiles.

"I've told you. _I know what you fear most,_ Judith."

Two other carnivores stood behind Nick's back, grabbing him by the elbows, while the Sentinel took out a bottle filled with some liquid.

"What.. _is that?!_ " gasped the fox, feeling that his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

The Dragon did respond to his question, though he was still looking at Judy.

" _That_ is the most horrible thing in the world."

Nick then heard the voice of Ra the python, hissing by his side.

"Do you remember the dueling crocodilesss? They use that sssubstance to fall into a ssstate of battle rage. I believe it is called... _the esssence of Night howler_."

"Drink this, _suckling!_ " Gnarlathotep then ordered him, uncorking the bottle.

The fox's eyes went wide… He turned his head and gazed at his rabbit friend, noticing that she was now completely terrified.

"Go on! _Show her how much you love her!_ " Allastor screamed at him as the other carnivores began to laugh.

When the Sentinel made another step his way, Nick forcefully shook, attempting to break free. The crocodile immediately punched him in the stomach.

" _Puh!_ " the Dragon snorted in disdain, turning away and returning to his spot. He then yelled to the Grand Lizard:

" _Clamorem istorum audire volo_!"

Nodding in obedience to his master, Allastor went over to face the captive fox, who was squirming in pain, held tightly by the other guards.

"Drink that, or I will _pour it down your throat!_ "

Nick lifted his eyes at him, and spat the reptile in the face.

" _RAH!_ " he roared in reaction, now completely overcome with fury.

Brandishing his sharp talons, the alligator buried them in the shocked mammal's side, making him cry out in agony.

" _NICK!_ " Judy screamed, attempting to run to her friend's aid, yet quickly detained by the other carnivores.

With his other paw, Allastor then took the bottle of Night howler essence from Gnarlathotep, and ordered the guard:

"Hold this _vermin_ down!"

The huge croc grabbed the screaming fox by the scruff of his neck, bending his head back. In the meantime, Allastor shoved his claws even deeper into the mammal's flesh. He wanted to close his mouth and clench his fangs… but he just wasn't able to.

The Grand Lizard then poured the serum into his mouth. Nick had only two options- either to swallow, or choke to death.

He started swallowing.

In the blink of an eye, everything was over. The guards let go of both Nick and Judy and stepped back, leaving the predator and the prey completely free, standing in the midst of their circle, stunned and shivering.

The fox gasped for air. Feeling in his stomach the bitter taste of Night howlers, he glared at the reptile who had done an unimaginably cruel thing to him.

But Allastor just jeered, turning toward the Dragon and saying:

"A sacrifice of innocent blood!"

Nick then turned his eyes at his rabbit friend. From her expression, he could clearly see that she was now just as frightened as he was when the reptiles first put a muzzle on his face... or perhaps even more.

"I'm sorry, Judy…" he whispered as a tear fell down his cheek right before he collapsed to the ground with a savage howl.

The last thing he could remember was the dream he had, in which he himself was taking part in the feast where none other than his closest friend was to be the main course.

* * *

 **AN: Like in Orwell's Ministry of Love, the Dragon's lair is the place where all your worst nightmares come true. Nick was afraid of muzzles. The greatest fear of Judy, his dear friend, is...  
**

 **... well, being eaten. By a fox.**

 **But... if Nick eats Judy... then the poison she took won't kill any reptiles ;( Will he, though?  
**

 **In any case, bear with me a bit longer. The climax is nigh.**

* * *

 **(Translation of the Latin:**

 ** _\- Festum Mortis celebrantes, adsumus - '_ celebrating the Feast of Death, we attend'. _  
_**

 ** _-_** ** _ _ADSUUUMUUUS! - '__ WE ATTEND!' _ _  
__**

 **-** ** _Clamorem istorum audire volo_! - 'I wish to hear them scream!')  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

First, there was nothing but the sound of his own heavy, unsteady breathing.

Then, there was pain.

The wound in his side, caused by the Grand Lizard's talon, was ablaze with live fire. He also realized that, for some reason, his throat burned as well. There was a a disgusting taste in his mouth he couldn't quite specify.

Finally, brought back to his senses in another flash of consciousness, he felt his until recently numb bones and joints erupt with a stunning ache. When his head stopped spinning and the fox could at last distinguish up from down, he realized he was being dragged through the floor by someone who was holding his paw.

Nick attempted to open an eye, but was almost instantly struck by a feeling of strong nausea. Coughing, he began to gag as if ready to throw up.

He then heard the muted sound of a voice, coming from the one who was pulling him.

"He's alive! Guess you won't have to eat you meal cold, after all."

"Sssplendid!" responded another carnivore.

The fox recognized the first voice as belonging to Gnarlathotep, whereas the second was that of Ra.

Nick also noticed something else. He was unable to vomit up anything, as his stomach was completely empty. He felt the horrible stink of his gastric contents, which now soiled the fur on his chest.

This meant that the only reason he was alive and conscious was that he'd thrown up the Night howler essence which Allastor had poured down his throat, along with the 'Angel of death' mushrooms. But now, a whole new set of uncertainties suddenly bombarded his brain…

 _What happened after he went savage?_ Where was Judy? Where were the two reptiles taking him?

Those question causing him unspeakable anguish, but he remained silent. He knew perfectly that if he showed the python and the Sentinel that he could hear them, they'd probably take care of him in a very unpleasant manner.

The crocodile, with the snake creeping right by his side, dragged Nick to the edge of the underground pond. Gnarlathotep then let go of the mammal, leaving him lying on the pavement, faking unconsciousness.

"Hurry up! I'm getting hungry!" the python rushed the other reptile.

With a disdainful snort, the Sentinel grabbed a bucket that stood nearby, filled it up with water, and hurled all of it straight at the fox. Then, he repeated the process. Nick had to grind his fangs in order not to gasp from the cold.

"There!" announced the crocodile. "Is this clean enough for you?"

"Yesss, this isss fine," the python hissed in response. "Now leave me be."

" _Hmf!_ With pleasure!" Gnarlathotep snapped as a form of farewell, seemingly on his way back to the chamber where the feast was still going on.

Left alone with the eight-foot-long constrictor, Nick found himself in the position of a freshly washed fish, about to be devoured.

Feeling Ra slithering his way, the serpent's tongue flailing in the air, the mammal remained motionless. But when the reptile opened his mouth…

"GAH!" the fox gekkered in fury, pouncing at his attacker with extended claws.

Unfortunately, Ra managed to dodge his assault in a flash, hissing loudly. Before Nick was able to turn, the snake moved his tail, instantly sweeping him off his feet. Before the shocked mammal's brain was even able to register the pain of the collapse, Ra had already wrapped him in the coils of his muscular body.

"Hahaha!" sneered the victorious carnivore, taking delight in the look of his prey's eyes. "I knew you were awake! Did you forget, _morsel_? _The ssserpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made_ , not the fox!"

Nick felt his bones slowly starting to crack as the snake constricted him with more and more power… Terrified by the sight of Ra's vertical pupils, he gasped for air. The situation became desperate.

It turned out, however, that Ra also forgot about one thing. Moving his head closer to stare Nick in the face, he got within the range of the fox's teeth. For the mammal, still not the dullest tool in the shed in terms of cunning, had been tucking his neck in between his shoulders.

He attacked as suddenly as he had earlier, this time grabbing the serpent by the throat before he was able to pull his head away, sinking his fangs in the reptile's skin.

"GHHH… _Ssssss_!"

Ra flexed his muscles so tight it almost caused Nick's ribs to shatter. But the fox also didn't intend to relax his jaws. Finally, when the serpent felt a lack of oxygen in his brain, he panicked. Unwinding his coils, he began jerking around like an eel, whipping the ground with his tail.

But then Nick, whose paws were now finally free, grabbed his former tutor by the throat. And broke his his neck.

When Ra's dead body lay before him, twitching in post mortem convulsions, the furious mammal spat out the serpent's blood which he had in his mouth.

" _May you… be cursed… among all cattle, and beasts of the earth_!" he panted in rage, trying to regain his breath.

The aftertaste of blood… It quickly reminded him of something else- _Judy_.

He needed to act quickly.

Getting down on all fours, as stealthily as he could, Nick crawled out of the chamber and into the hallway. Straining his ears, all he heard were the far-away sounds of the feast.

He just hoped it wasn't too late yet.

Barely able to think straight, relying on his instincts more than actual reason, he ran straight to the _wardrobe_.

It wasn't hard for him to find his gun, which was hanging on one of the racks. Taking out the magazine, he noticed that it was full.

 _Fifteen bullets_ … he thought, forcing himself to remember that.

He afterwards put on the holster, grasped the pistol tightly, and ran toward the great chamber.

" _God's way is my way… God's shield is round me… God's host defends me, saving from ill. Angels of heaven… drive from me always… all that would harm me, stand by me still_ ," he mumbled as he moved along, almost as if in a trance of some sort.

The sound of his pawsteps echoed silently within the cold, stone corridors.

He wouldn't show mercy, as those living here haven't shown any to others.

The fox stood in the portal of the main hall with his gun drawn, witnessing a truly horrible scene being played out before his eyes. The animals there, reptiles and mammals alike, were busy about their meal. Each was now ripping the meat off a different part of the dismembered prey. The floor was soaked red with blood.

The scent of a rabbit, however, was absent amongst those Nick could sense in the air.

" _This is for Mathilda… and everyone else!_ " he yelled at them from the top of his voice.

The completely astonished carnivores turned their surprised faces toward him… only to witness their own doom.

The first two bullets hit Kiara the lioness, who stood closest, in the side. The female gasped as her lungs were punctured, momentarily falling to the floor, choking. Jimmy the cheetah, who was right by her side, was shot with bullets number three and four.

"… _five, six, seven…"_ Nick counted aloud as he fired at Gnarlathotep, hitting the crocodile in the shoulder, the chest, and the head.

" _RRRAH_!" Rufus Lynx then pounced at him, exposing his bloodied fangs.

"EIGHT!" screamed the fox, shooting the bobcat in the stomach.

The feline curled up in mid-air, and stretched out after falling to floor right at Nick's feet, groaning in agony.

The frenzied ZPD officer jumped over him and ran into the chamber, looking around and breathing heavily, pointing his gun in any direction from which a possible attack could come.

There was no one else in the room, however, but either corpses, or the wounded.

Stooping down to look into the frightened face of Rufus Lynx, Nick grabbed the quivering feline by the fur on his chest, pulling him his way. The bobcat yelped in pain, the gunshot wound in his stomach continuing to gush in spite of his desperate attempts to block the bleeding.

The fox put the barrel of his pistol under Rufus' chin.

"On account of charges one through five…" he hissed, clenching his teeth, "… _guilty!_ "

A cloud of blood and brain particles appeared behind the carnivore's head after Nick fired his ninth round.

Shaking with rage, yet sober enough to understand that he'd better get a hold of himself now, he then arose, approaching the two felines who had hunted him not so long ago.

Jimmy was already stiff. Kiara, however, was still moving.

" _Where is she?_ " he screamed in the lioness' face. " _WHERE"S JUDY?!_ "

But Kiara was unable to answer, drowning in her own blood.

It appeared, however, that somebody else also heard the fox's words.

" _Mr. Wilde!_ " Nick heard someone calling his name from behind.

Turning around with his gun drawn, he saw Allastor. The Grand Lizard was standing at the entrance, holding a terrified lamb tightly in his grasp.

" _Easy now!_ " the alligator yelled at him. "One step further, and I will…"

He wasn't permitted to finish his sentence. As the reptile still spoke, Nick instantly aimed and fired, once and then again.

The tenth bullet went over Allastor's head.

The eleventh hit him in the throat, exiting through the back of the skull.

The chamber was filled with a sound that was something between a gargle and a wheeze. The Grand Lizard, killed by Nick in the same way Judy had killed his brother, let go of his hostage. Falling to the floor, its white fleece completely soiled by the reptile's blood, the terrified animal ran away with a frantic bleat before being crushed by the huge alligator's corpse.

Now only Kiara remained twitching on the floor. Looking down at her, certain that she was no longer able to speak, Nick pointed his pistol at her and put the feline out of her misery with a twelfth round.

It was as if someone, either his instincts or some other mysterious force, was acting for him, leading his paw so that he could hit his targets in spite of his own miserable state. Looking around now, he found himself in the midst of a room full of dead bodies.

The underlings have been vanquished. But the thing that frightened him now was the fact that he could neither see nor smell Judy anywhere…

And, what was even more alerting, the Dragon was nowhere to be found, as well.

Holding his weapon tightly, feeling his knees shake, the fox slowly returned back to the hallway…

It was then that he heard his voice.

" _Nicholas…_ "

It sounded as if the demon's words came from all around, resounding within the tunnels in a gruesome, vibrating note.

" _Nicholas… you have slain my friends!_ "

Turning his head around, completely confused, the fox felt his heart pound as he tried to sniff out the monitor…

Noticing a golden glow in the dark, he fired his thirteenth shot that way.

But all he hit was air.

" _HAHAHA!"_ laughed the Dragon madly, emerging from the darkness.

Nick screamed, pulling the trigger two more times in a fit of panic.

But the reptile continued running straight at him.

 _Fifteen..._ he thought, flinching.

With an empty clip, all the fox could do was retreat.

The Dragon was right on his tail, and although Nick was the faster one of them, he really had to strain himself in order not to get caught. The adrenaline in his blood began to wear off, and he was slowly starting to feel how exhausted he was after this whole nightmare.

He ran for what seemed an eternity. Finally, he reached a wall fashioned of shoddily laid bricks, indicating to him that he was now back by the _wardrobe_. Without second thoughts, he jumped inside the chamber.

Noticing Judy's uniform on top of one of the heaps of clothing, he swiftly ran up to it, digging into the pile.

Underneath his partner's ballistic vest, he found exactly what he needed. Judy's revolver.

Grabbing the gun in both his paws, he instantly turned toward the entrance. But no one came through it.

Nick was by now so winded that he couldn't even stand anymore. Gasping for air, still pointing the revolver at the door, the frightened animal sat down on the stone floor, resting his back against the pile of stolen clothes. He waited for a long time amongst total silence, as his breath slowly steadied. His outstretched arm began to ache eventually, so the fox supported it with the other one.

He was armed, yet cornered.

When he heard the Dragon's voice again, it was calm and frigid. Once again, Nick couldn't quite specify where exactly it came from, except that if was from outside of the _wardrobe_.

" _Heh-heh… Nicholas, why do you still persist in your useless resistance?"_

Promising himself that he would not be intimidated, the fox responded confidently to the jeering question.

"Where's Judy?!" he yelled.

But all the Dragon did was speak with even more malice.

" _Ah yes, your friend. You found her gun, haven't you? You're too afraid to face me armed with just your claws and fangs. I don't blame you. After all, you're just an insignificant mammal… At least to me. Although, you weren't that to_ _ **the rabbit herself**_ _!"_

The final words were spoken with extra emphasis. That seemingly unimportant fact made Nick feel extremely uneasy, however… Now both the paws with which he was holding Judy's revolver began to shake.

He felt the aftertaste of blood in his mouth again. As well as, oddly enough, hearing in his mind the recollection of the words which a street preacher had once said to him far away in Tundratown.

 _I see the blood on_ _ **your**_ _fangs, as well!_

He was starting to feel sick all over again…

"Where… is Judy?" he asked far more silently, his voice shaking in a way he couldn't control.

The tunnels were then filled with the echo of the Dragon's laughter.

" _HAHAHA! Isn't it obvious to you yet? Why do you think Allastor gave you the Night howler essence? Your friend is gone, Nicholas! You've slaughtered her! You've fulfilled the destiny of a predator, and completed the natural food chain_ _ **at last**_ _!"_

 _No_ … That couldn't be true…

The fox was no longer able to hold the gun up in the air. His lips began to shake, along with the rest of his body.

In the meantime, the Dragon continued his torturous monologue.

" _Cursed is he who would hurt one of the little ones… I've told you, we do not create martyrs here. I'm after your soul, not your body. And I've already gotten hold of that **when you ate that rabbit's flesh**!"_

His voice became more vicious and cruel with each new word he uttered.

" _Now, do the last thing you have left! Use that weapon of yours, and end it all! If you do not kill yourself, my brethren will soon come, and you haven't got enough lead to dispose of all of them. I promise you, that if that happens, a long life awaits you here with us. You will learn to_ _ **eat**_ _and_ _ **drink**_ _wearing a muzzle, whereas **p**_ _ **ain and misery**_ _will be served to you as your daily food! There's only one way you can avoid such a fate. Now_ _ **do it!**_ _Accept the truth- acknowledge that you have failed to escape from the fact that you are_ _ **just like us!**_ _"_

Yet again, tears ran down the fox's face. If the Dragon was right… If he had indeed slaughtered his closest friend, even though he did that under the influence of the serum…

He would be unable to live with himself anymore.

Using the very last reserves of strength he had left in him, he lifted Judy's gun up, and placed it against the side of his head.

Nick took a deep breath. For some reason, he remembered that Judy bought that revolver after they had solved the case of _Butcher's Den_. They started frequently going to the ZPD shooting range together to improve their aim. Though the fox was more comfortable with a semi-automatic gun which could hold more bullets, Judy insisted on getting something with a little more of a kick.

Remembering her made him feel unlimited sorrow...

But it also redirected his thoughts toward something else. What would Judy herself want him to do right now, if she was here by her side? If she still _lived_?

He couldn't tell. His mind was darkened with exhaustion, and with the heavy burden of remorse and despair.

He continued to breathe, listening to his heart pumping blood through his veins at the speed of sound, feeling the cold metal of the gun barrel against his temple.

And then he noticed something. Somewhere nearby, somebody was moving. But Nick didn't see that with his eyes, which he still kept closed shut. It was something else.

Oddly, he recalled what Oscar Fangley had once told him, tutoring him on foxes' hunting techniques. About the sixth sense members of their species possessed- a type of a sonar which could detect a prey animal, moving under the snow… or hiding behind a wall.

He was holding Judy's revolver, which was loaded with bullets far more powerful than the 9mm rounds of his own semi-automatic. Bullets which could pierce through bricks. And now, focusing his attention, he could directly point out the exact position of his adversary, as the lizard lurked at the entrance to the _wardrobe_ , thinking himself to be safely out of range.

"D-Dragon…" the fox whispered with his tired, broken voice. "You like quotations. Well, allow _me_ to finally give you one, for a change. Let these be my final words."

Afterwards, not opening his eyes, Nick pointed the gun at the wall, yelling:

 _"AND HE SHALL SMITE THE WICKED, AND PLUNGE THEM INTO THE FIERY PIT!"_

The halls underneath Zootopia were then filled with the blast of officer Judy Hopps' revolver.

Her partner fired four times, just to make sure. After the smoke of gunpowder evaporated, and the sound of the shooting died down, he opened his eyes and was able to see four bullet holes in the brick wall in front of him.

Holding his breath, seated on the floor and not daring to move a muscle, he listened for a very long while.

But he heard nothing.

Finally forcing himself to arise, continuing to clench his fingers on the gun which still had one bullet left in its cylinder, he began walking, step by step, toward the entrance…

When he got there, he took a deep breath, and leaned out of the chamber with the revolver drawn. But all he was pointing at, was a corpse.

For the Dragon, in the end, turned out to merely be a being of flesh and blood. When the mighty lead rounds, accurately fired by Nick with the help of his vulpine senses, pierced the wall behind which he was hiding, shattering the reptile's skull, the same flesh and blood spilled out on the ground like that of so many victims who had been slaughtered in his name.

Making sure that the Komodo monitor was dead, Nick blinked…

… and started running.

Not caring about anything else but the instinctive urge to escape, he ran until he reached the tunnel through which Gnarlathotep had first led him into the Dragon's lair all those days ago, and then much farther, ignoring the burning pain in his overburdened muscles and joints, his bruises and injuries.

Galloping blindly through the sewers underneath the city, through some sort of a miracle, he noticed a light at the end of one of the passages.

A drunken sewer rat was sitting by a tiny brazier, warming himself.

" _Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner, sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in, the city of mammals, lonely as I am. Together we cry…"_ sang the rodent, with no one but himself to accompany him on this cold morning.

Suddenly, the rat noticed a strange sound.

Interrupting his song, he strained his ears, looking down the sewer… His sight was blurry, but he could sense that there was something coming his way.

"I'll be darned, what in the world _is_ that thing?" the rat asked himself, astonished. "Is that a… _fox?!"_

Fearing that he was seeing things, the prey animal sprung up to his feet. But when the frightening sight came even closer, with a shriek of horror, he attempted to make a run for it.

But the fox had no more strength left in him, and after slowing down, he eventually fell to his face.

Leaning out from behind the corner, the rodent investigated the strange occurrence more closely… only to discover, to his even greater shock, that the animal was not only real, but naked, covered in blood both his own and others', and wielding a gun in his paw.

The rat quickly climbed the ladder leading up to the city, and contacted the police. Nick's fellow officers from the ZPD pulled their unconscious colleague back out into the snowy streets of Zootopia in a matter of minutes.

It was five-till-nine AM. On Christmas Day.


	28. Chapter 28 - Epilogue

**Chapter 28 – Epilogue**

Nicholas Wilde was standing near the entrance to the Pet Str. Cemetery in the town of Horne, the capital of Horne County, sheltering himself from the pouring spring rain with a big umbrella.

His fur was red again, as he had washed off the black dye when camouflage became no longer necessary. His injured tail also looked just like before, thanks to the artificial hair extensions he got for it. He was wearing his old street clothes again, too.

The fox couldn't take his eyes off a black marble monument before which he was standing. The golden letters on the surface of the stone read:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE MANY UNKNOWN VICTIMS

OF BUTCHER'S DEN

AND THE MONSTROSITIES OF CARNIVORISM,

WHOSE FINAL RESTING PLACES REMAIN A MYSTERY,

THEIR UNCONSOLED FAMILIES AND FRIENDS.

Underneath, there was inscribed the biblical verse:

 _For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty: only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit serve one another. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another (Galatians 5, 13-15)_

When he finished reading the last sentence, the animal cried.

After the ZPD found him lying naked in the snow on Christmas Day, Nick was immediately put in a hospital in the state of almost total exhaustion. He was, however, able to force himself to utter a few words to chief Bogo when his boss came to visit the rescued officer.

It was then that he revealed to the police that the reptiles were indeed the ones responsible for the disappearances, and that they all lurked in the sewers.

A hunt was organized without delay. But although the tunnels underneath Zootopia were thoroughly scoured, and many horrifying signs of the presence of the reptiles discovered, no herps were actually caught. The other carnivores must have found those whom Nick had shot, and fled.

From then on, the ZPD organized regular patrols in the sewers all around the city, and had surveillance cameras installed to prevent a similar threat from rearising in the future. Excavations began in order to find if there was some sort of a hidden underground passage between Zootopia and Scaledonia.

The remains of officer Judy Hopps were also never discovered. It was therefore assumed that she had been killed by the reptiles.

All was not lost, however. When the ZPD officers pulled out from the Dragon's lair a gruesome tome of the draconites, a book printed on parchment and written in blood, called the _Liber Draconis_ , Nick explained to them the purpose of the item.

Over five hundred carnivores from all walks of life, whose names were listed within the book, were caught in the following days around Zootopia and in the neighboring counties. All of them were immediately put in jail. By now, many had already been sentenced, and awaited execution.

Informed about the true reason of their prolonged crisis, the predators and herbivores of the city let go of their mutual animosity completely, uniting against a common enemy- the reptiles. Riots began in the Canal District which they inhabited, and cases of lynching were even reported. When mayor Lionheart tried to prevent the enraged mammals from executing their revenge, he was promptly impeached.

In his place, the more conservative councilor Swinton was soon elected. One of the new mayor's first ordinances was what became known as the _St. Petrick's Day Edict_. Signed on March 17th, it stripped all reptiles from the right to reside within the boundaries of Zootopia, and exiled those who had until recently been legally living there. The small minority had no other choice but to relocate to Scaledonia. Whether they were guilty, or not.

With the people's common foe gone, the city breathed with relief, now finally able to experience a time of peace, after such a long time of crisis.

After recovering from his injuries, Nick ran away from the hospital before Zootopia could dub him a hero. Both the press and the ZPD attempted to find the courageous officer, who was missing yet again. But the fox hid himself well.

Wiping away his tears, he looked at the tiny paper flags which were sticking out of the plot of flattened dirt in front of the monument. Each of the flags had a name on it, and commemorated a different victim of carnivorism.

He just couldn't make himself attend his friend's official funeral in Bunnyburrow. He wouldn't be able to look in her family's faces after what had happened. That was why he came to that place this day, instead.

With a shaking paw, the fox reached into the pocket of his slacks. He took out of it a ZPD police badge, which bore the name _Judith L. Hopps_.

Nick then put the badge by the side of the monument.

His partner had been posthumously re-promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Although his own degradation had also been cancelled, Nick probably cared about that just as much as Judy right now.

"Rest in peace, Carrots…" he mumbled with a shaky voice, barely keeping himself from bursting out in tears.

The fox then arose and, slowly walking down the wet paths of the cemetery, returned to his car.

He opened the door on the driver's side, folded his umbrella, and got in. Beside him, on the passenger seat, sat a vixen.

"Are you all right?" Scarlet asked him with concern, putting her paw on his shoulder.

Nick turned his eyes at her. She looked much better right now, without her punkish disguise. Just like he remembered her.

The female's sight soothed him, and he was soon able to calm his breath.

"Yeah," he said to her. "I'll be fine."

The vixen nodded. Then, reaching into her purse, she grabbed something from inside of it. It was a medicine bottle which had the word _Carnisol_ written on the label.

Scarlet unscrewed the cap, took a pill, and then handed the bottle to Nick.

"Take this, it's time," she encouraged him.

Doing what she said, Nick also swallowed the muscular protein substitute. Then, looking over his shoulder, he called:

"Ezra!"

"Yes, dad," the kit answered him, continuing to play out the role he had been given.

The little fox received the bottle from Nick, took a pill himself, and then gave it back to Scarlet, his 'mother'.

Afterwards, the vixen looked toward the male again.

"You ready? Are you sure you don't want me to drive?"

"No, it's okay," Nick dismissed her worries, though he sighed rather uneasily after he said that, unable to look her in the eyes.

He then started the engine.

As they got on the highway which ran toward Zootopia, the troubled fox turned on the radio, desperately trying to distract himself somehow.

The voice of the singer flowed from the speakers.

 _I've been a liar, been a thief_

 _Been a lover, been a cheat_

 _All my sins need holy water, feel it washing over me…_

While still driving, Nick rolled down the window on his side and lit himself a cigarette. In these circumstances, Scarlet permitted him to smoke even in front of the kit.

But the tobacco smoke couldn't kill the persistent aftertaste of blood he still felt in his mouth.

For a very long time now, the fox had been looking for a reason to live. But in order to find that, he needed escape- escape from his past, and all the horrors associated with it. He hoped that, perhaps, the old con artist whom he was would be able to find peace within a family of con artists?

That almost worked. But one night, he had to admit to Scarlet openly- he did not want her as his wife only in order to pull off another hustle. No, he desired her to be more than that.

The vixen happily agreed.

Nick wanted a Catholic wedding. A modest, but real one. Although, if he wanted to get married in the Church, he first needed to become a member again. And in order to do that, he had to once again return to Zootopia.

He parked the car on Cypress Grove Lane, right in front of Old St. Petrick's. Scarlet could see how much his paws were shaking as he hesitated before opening the door.

"Don't worry, you can do it!" she attempted to cheer him up with a smile. "It'll all be over in a minute."

"Yeah, we'll be waiting right here for you," Ezra also encouraged him from the back seat.

Looking on his make-believe family, which was soon to become his real family, with gratitude, yet still with an almost indescribable burden weighing him down, the fox exited the vehicle tardily…

As he ascended the steps of the church, it felt as if his legs, just like the building itself, were made of solid stone.

He pushed the large wooden door, what created a screeching echo. The rain had stopped by now, and the sun which was shyly looking out from behind the clouds illuminated the floor of the church with the colorful lights reflected from the stained glass windows.

Fr. O'Rinse was praying in the back pew, waiting for him, and when he saw his former parishioner coming in, he got up to confront him. The raccoon, dressed in his priestly garb and a purple stole which Nick always thought to have been a fancy scarf in his younger years, smiled and pointed his finger at the holy water fountain.

Realizing that the stress made him forget about proper church etiquette yet another time, Nick dipped his paw in the water, and crossed himself.

Only then did the priest greet him.

"It's good to see you again. You're right on time. Follow me, m'boy, and let's get started."

Fr. O'Rinse then led the fox to the confessional box, and sat inside of it. Shaking like a leaf, Nick bent his knees at the grill to begin his confession.

"B-bless me, father, for I have s-sinned…" he stammered, hardly able to squeeze the words out of his throat. "… m-my last confession… was twenty-five years ago."

"I know that! I was the one who heard it!" the old raccoon inside the booth said merrily, probably in order to loosen up the tension. "Now, tell me something I _don't_ know."

"I-I…" the surprised fox yelped. But then he went completely numb, unable to utter another word.

"Well? What's so scary, eh?" the priest spoke to him compassionately. "Don't worry, you already told me that you've eaten meat. We can cross that off the list. Now what else happened since the last time?"

Silence.

"You still remember how this is done, don't you?" the raccoon wondered aloud, realizing that, after such a long time, perhaps his penitent needed a little help. "Do you remember the Ten Commandments, Nicholas?"

"Y-yes, I do…" stuttered the fox.

"Well then, please tell me which ones you have broken."

Astonished, Nick knelt there with his mouth agape for a few more seconds. And then, with tears in his eyes and in complete honesty, he said something that surprised even the old priest who was hearing his confession.

"All of them."

* * *

THE END

* * *

 **AN: Yup. This is it.**

 **I am going to be honest with you. I'm surprised that so many of you have persevered until the very end of this story, which (when counting the first part), has began almost five months ago! I was actually kind of selfish with the sequel. I used this story to get rid of some negative emotions, and didn't quite care about what the readers expected. I wrote what _I_ wanted to write. That's why the story is so dark and twisted, I guess. But still, you held on! Congratulations!**

 **In case the _Aftertaste of Blood_ is leaving you with a feeling of bitterness, the ending is purposely vague. I left some questions open. Is the reptile threat really completely gone, or are the Scaledonians, ******angered by their defeat and exile, about to to declare an open war against mammals**? Did Nick abandon the police to run away with his new family of former carnivores? Will he find peace together with Scarlet and Ezra? And, most importantly, is Judy _really_ dead?**

 **Her body was never found. The Dragon may have told Nick that he killed and ate her, but the fox himself has no real way to find out if that is true. Perhaps, after Nick threw up the Night howler serum and the reptiles figured out that he was no longer under its influence, they locked Judy away again? Or perhaps she used the opportunity to run away from them, and hid within the tunnels underneath Zootopia, sneaking from one carnivore outpost to the other in the dark, poisoning the herps as revenge? Maybe she's still hiding there, hunting for scalies?**

 **I'm not going to answer that. You make of it what you will.**

 **Judy's sacrifice has been rightfully honored, and she will be remembered as Zootopia's hero. She has been avenged by Nick, who has personally put their persecutors to justice- the corrupt Scaledonian ambassador, Allastor LaCoste, the members of Butcher's Den who have been hiding from the police, like Rufus, Jimmy and Kiara, and even the demonic Dragon himself. But still, this is a story about failure. Would it have gone better had Nick and Judy not fought so much, but cooperated in looking for the carnivores? Perhaps. But since they didn't, Nick is blaming himself for the death of his partner, even if he caused it while in a state of a lack of self-control. The only one who can still give him a reason to live, is Scarlet. And the only one who can forgive him, is God himself.  
**

 **Thank you for being with me throughout all this time. Both of these stories are basically a book right now. I think I need a rest from Zootopia, at least until the sequel comes out. Or, perhaps, Zootopia needs a rest from me XD**

 **Bye!**


End file.
